Warning! Violence and the Supernatural The fictional worlds of Palladium Books® are violent, deadly and filled with supernarural monsters. Other-dimensional beings, often referred to as "demons," torment, stalk and prey on humans. Other alien life forms, monsters, gods and demigods, as well as magic, insanity. and war are all elements in these books. Some parents may fmd the violence, magic and supernatural elements of the games inappropriate for young readers/players. We suggest parental discretion. Please note that none of us at Palladium Books® condone or encourage the occult, the practice of magic, the use of drugs, or violence. The Rifter® Number 26 Your guide to the Palladium Megaverse®! 1
First Printing - April, 2004 Copyright 2004 Palladium Books Inc. All rights reserved, world wide, under the Universal Copyright Convention. No part of this book may be reproduced in part or whole, in any form or by any means, without permission from the publisher, except for brief quotes for use in reviews. All incidents, situations, institutions, governments and people are fictiona l and any similarity, without satiric intent, of characters or persons living or dead, is strictly coincidental. Palladium Books®, Rifts®, The Rifter®. Coalition Wars®, RECON®, Nightbane®, The Palladium Fantasy Role-Playing Game®, The Mechanoids®, The Mechanoid Tnvasion®, After the Bomb®, Phase World® and Megaverse® are registered trademarks owned and licensed by Kevin Siembieda and Palladium Books Inc. Beyond the Supernatural Two, Chaos Eanh, NEMA, MercTown, Dimension Builder, Splicers, Naruni, United Worlds of Warlock. Chaos Wizard, Lord of the Deep, NEMA, Mechanoid Space, Dinosaur Swamp, Anno, Lazio, Victor Lazlo, Lazlo Agency, Michael Mach, Heroes Unlimited, HU2, Powers Unlimited, Ninjas & Superspies, Aliens Unlimited, Mutant Underground, The Nursery, Hardware Unlimited, Gadgets Unlimited, Beyond the Supernatural, BTS-2, Three Galaxies, Void Runners, Gramercy Island, Skraypers, Atorian Empire, Wormwood, Land of the Damned, The Citadel, Wolfen Wars, Wolfen, Cosmo-Knights, Cyber-Knight, Dragonlands. Triax, Gargoyle Empire, Free Quebec, Xiticix Invasion, Fadetown, Hammer of the Forge, Siege On Tolkeen, Psyscape, Dweomer, ARCHIE-3, Nonhem GUn, Coalition States, Erin Tam, Emperor Prosek, Splugorlh, Splynncryth, Mega-Damage, Skelebot, SAMAS, Glitter Boy, Dog Boys, Dog Pack, Techno-Wizard, Ley Line Walker, Shifter, Bic-Wizardry, PSi-Stalker, Brodkil, Juicer, Crazy, 'Burbs, 'Borg, 'Bot, D-Bee, Chi-Town, Triax. NGR, and other names, titles and likenesses ofeharncters are trademarks owned by Kevin Siembieda and Palladium Books Inc. Palladium Online www.palladiurnbooks.com The Rifter® #26 RPG sourcebook series is published by Palladium Books Inc., 12455 Universal Drive, Tay lor, M1 48 180. Printed in the USA. 2
Palladium Books® Presents: THE #26 Sourcebook and guide to the Palladium Megaverse® Coordinator & Editor in Chief: Wayne Smith Contributing Writers: James M.G. Cannon Evan Cooney Chris Fox Michael Long Jason Richards Andrew Rusling Kevin Siembieda Proofreader: Julius Rosenstein Cover Logo Design: Steve Edwards Credits Page Logo: NikJas Brandt Typesetting: Wayne Smith Keylining: Kevin Siembieda Based on the RPG rules, characters, concepts and Megaverse® created by Kevin Siembieda. Cover Illustration: John Zeleznik Interior Artists: Kent Buries Drunken Style Studios (DSS) Michael Dubisch Allen Manning Brian Manning Apollo Okamura Ramon Perez and other Palladium Madmen Special Thanks to all our contributors, writers and artists - and a special welcome on board to the artists and writers making their debut in this issue. Our apologies to anybody who got accidentally left out or their name misspelled. 3
Contents - The Rifter® #26 - April, 2004 Page 7 - From the Desk of Kevin Sicmbieda Life at Palladium Books has gotten pretty crazy around here. and threatens to get even crazier as things progress with taking Rifts® into the mass market Publisher and creator, Kevin Siembieda, explains how working toward the future is messing up the present. That's why OUf release schedule has been a mess. It's all explained here. Artwork by Mike Majestic of Drunken Style Srudio. Page 8 - Palladium News The big news is Palladium's convention schedule this year, and the fact that we are working hard to make Origins Game Expo 2004 (held in Columbus, Oh io, June 24-27) something special for Palladium garners. More guest creators than we've ever brought to any convention in the past, more than 30 Palladium gaming events (2 run by Kevin, himself, 6-8 by Carmen Bellaire, 3-5 by Carl Gleba and a whole bunch of other people), plus Palladium's booth bursting with game books, new releases, T-shirts, original artwork, and special items. We're planning to go all out al Origins. Then, in August, we' ll be at Gen Con (Indianapolis Indiana), and maybe Dragon Con (Atlanta, Georgia), and then in October, we'll be at Trinity Con (Southfield, Michigan), and maybe U-Con (in Ann Arbor, Michigan). Not to mention a few trade shows. This is one of Palladium's busiest convention seasons ever, and we invite garners everywhere to come on down and join the fun. Other news includes a big announcement at E3, a writer for the Rifts Movie, a Retailer Directory on our website, and some silliness. Page 11 - Coming Attractions Our revised schedule, five "big" summer releases, some recent releases you don't want to miss - including Powers Unlimited 2. RifiS® Megaverse® Builder, and Naruni Enterprises' return to Rifts Earth in Naruni Wave Two. All these titles in print, in stock and available through stores. Page 13 - Coming Soon New titles in the works and scheduled for a May, June or Summer releas~. That includes Rifts® China Two, Beyond the SupernaturaITM 2, Rifts® Dinosaur Swamp, Phase World®: United Worlds of Warlock and our new science fiction roleplaying game Splicers (which is really cool). Page 14 - Fleas for Systems Failure™ A new kind of al ien insect and danger, but one that can be used against the invading Bugs. Adventure ideas, the Fleas, some new "bug bombs," and other good stuff. Optional for use with Systems Failu re™. Artwork by Apollo " I hare bugs" Okamura. Page 19 - Sneak Preview of Beyond the Superoatural™, 2nd Edition Kevin Siembieda peels off some of the new material he's written for BTS-2 and presents it hcre for those of you who have 4 been waiting for this hotly anticipated Second Edition game. The Sneak Peek opens with a linle history and infonnation about the game, followed by a color piece involving Rober! Mach, head of the Lazlo Agency, and a skeptical reporter. The Psychic Medium P.c.c. is one of the new Psychic Character Classes, and is presented in its entirety, starting on page 23. This is one of several new character classes being added to BTS-2. The old favorites (Physical Psychic, Psychic Sensitive, Nega-Psychic, Psi-Mechanic, Arcanist, etc.) will also appear in the final product, but they will be expanded upon and made even more interesting while retaining their original flavor. Kevin is shooting to finally have BTS-2 released by the end of May, but it might slip into a June release (let's hope not). Artwork by is by Michael Dubisch, one of the fine artists contributing to Beyond (he Supernatllral™, Second Edition. (Ramon Perez and Apollo Okamura are two of the other chief artists breath ing life into BTS-2; cover by John Zeleznik). Page 31- Palladium Fantasy Role-Playing Game® Construct Animation Magic Evan Cooney presents optional rules and clever ideas for a new type of magic that dates back to the early days of the Elf-Dwarf War - animating inanimate objects like a mystical puppet master. This practitioner of magic is know as the Animator, and how his powers and creations work is all laid oul for your enjoyment. Artwork is by Brian and Allen Manning. Page 40 - Palladium Fantasy ROle-Playing Game® Unknown Depths Andrew Rusling takes and in-depth look at the misunderstood Lizard Men of the Palladium World. This race of lribal people inhabit the swamps and woodlands of the Yin-Sloth Jungles and are considered to be primitive savages by the rest of the world. Learn about how their reptilian minds and society really work. Includes some tips for using them as player characters, plus some adventure campaign ideas. Artwork is by Apollo "I'm everywhere" Okamura. Page 47 - Palladium Fantasy Role-Playing Game® The Fires of Korath, Part Two The conclusion to Michael Long's epic adventure. To quote Julius Rosenberg, one of the original Defilers, "This adventure is great! Definitely worth playing." More mystery, intrigue and treachery involving the Old Ones, dark gods and insane cultists. Perils include evil Wizards, dark Priests, Necromancers, Thieves, Goblins, Serpent Rats and the ultimate villain, Minoth Soulbreaker, among others. Best suited for mid- to high-level characters willing to face deadly odds, torture and death. Artwork by Kent "Cowboy" Buries. Maps by Michael Long (assisted by Wayne Smith).
Page 6S - The official Origins Game Expo Ad Zillions of games, thousands of garners, hundreds of garning events, and the one and only Palladium Books. We hope you join us there to make Origins the talk of the town for Palladium garners from around the world. Page 66 - Rifts® Mutants of Rifts Earth Jason Richards offers new ideas and approaches for a host of different mutants living on Rifts Earth. Optional rules enable players to create Mutants of all kinds - Super Mutants, Psychic Mutants, Mutant Animals, and Mutant Humans. Includes Mutant Characteristics, Mutant Abilities, Mutoids, some notable Non-Player Characters, and ideas for incorporating them into your games. Artwork by Brian and Allen Manning. Page 83 - Rifts® Phase World® The Hammer ofthe Forge Chapter 26 of James M.G. Cannon's ongoing saga. ArtWork by Apollo "Me Again" Okamura. Page 86 - Rifts® Lord of the Deep A nice short story by Chris Fox involving the legendary being known only as the "Lord of the Deep. Questions & Answers We had so much RPG material to squeeze into this issue that we left Questions and Answers out. Rodney Ston, Shawn Merrow and Kevin Siembieda will be back next issue to answer more inquiries and offer more Palladium FRPG® Second Edition conversions for the Yin-Sloth Jungles. Page 97 - The Summer Catalog of Palladium Books At no extra cost we include our 32 page Summer Catalog for your review and reference. See what's new and look up back stock titles you have been meaning to get your hands on, but haven' t gotten around to yet. Note that The Rifter® issues 1-13 are out of print and later titles will be discontinued as they go out of print. (Limited numbers of some early issues will be offered by Palladium at conventions, and if you're a good little boy or girl, maybe in our annual X-Mas Surprise Grab Bag). The theme for issue 26 Palladium Fantasy, adventure, magic and unique player characters are the themes of this issue. For those of you lamenting that we have let old favorites like Palladium Fantasy and cult faves like Systems Failure languish in favor of RifiS®, Wayne Smith has tried to pack this issue full of material other than RiftS®. Furthennore, Palladium Books has many future plans for the Palladium Fantasy RPG® and Heroes UnlimitedfM, in particular, so fear not, more gaming material for these two premier lines (and others) is coming over the next year. 5 The Cover This issue's cover is one of the digital pamtmgs John Zeleznik did for the defunct Rifts® Collectible Card Game by Precedence. The artWork is simpler than most of John's covers because the art had to fit within an image area of only a few inches. We think it looks pretty dam good at any size. Optional and Unofficial Rules & Source Material Please note that most of the material presented in The Rifter® is "unofficial" or "optional" rules and source material. They are alternative ideas, homespun adventures and material mostly created by fellow gamers and fans like you, the reader. Things one can elect 10 include in one's own campaign or simply enjoy reading about. They are not "official" to the main garnes or world settings. As for optional tables and adventures. if they sound cool or fun, use them. If they sound funky, too high-powered or inappropriate for your game, modify them or ignore them completely. All the material in The Rirter® has been included for two reasons: One, because we thought it was imaginative and fun, and two, we thought it would stimulate your imagination with fun ideas and concepts that you can use (if you want to), or which might inspire you to create your own wonders. www.palladiumbooks.com - Palladium Online Coming Next Issue The Rifter™ #27 • Material for Palladium Fantasy®. • Material for Nightballe® and/or Heroes UnIimitetPM • • Material for Beyond the SupernaturafT"t. • More material for Rifts®. • An exciting announcement about a new license • Questions and Answers • The next chapter of The Hammer of the Forge™. • The latest news and developments at Palladium Books. • Source material for the entire Palladium Megaverse®. • New contributors and fun. So please join us. Palladium's games are found in stores everywbere
From the Desk of Kevin iembieda My Apologies Palladium's 2004 release schedule is a wreck. and I want to apologize to the thousands of fans we may have disappointed. Palladium Books has a long history of being late with its re· leases, though historically 70% of our products are released on time, and 2003 saw a record 90% on time. Unfortunately, 2004 has been a different story with seemingly constantly changing release dates for at least a pair of our two most hotly anticipated titles from 2003: Rifts® China 2 and Beyond the Supernatural™, 2nd Edition. Both are about to surpass being six months late. The delays have been unavoidable. Rifts® China 2 was first delayed when Erick was knocked off his feet for two weeks from the flu (or some hideous thing) and was working at low ebb for several weeks afterward. Additional illness and surgery involving a loved one stole away more of his time and energy. Erick is a friend and free lancer for Palladium and doesn't get a weekly paycheck, so he's been spending time job hunting in the electronic game biz and going on interviews across the country. Lastly, it's not easy to write an outstanding book and truly capture the flavor of the Orient, so a ton of research, planning, plotting and rewriting is required, and it's taking Erick a while to get this book done. Ah, but when it is, it should be fabulous. As for me, Kevin Siembieda, and BTS-2, things are even crazier. I trashed my original work for Beyond the Supernatura l 2 when inspiration struck deep and demanded that I retool it all into something (I believe) will be truly different and fun. Oh, the book will be recognizable to long time fans, but it will be deeper, richer and scarier than ever before. I'm basically rewriting the entire book from top to bottom. The cover is done, 90% of the interior artwork is fmished, and I have a pile of notes and a zillion ideas ready to go. I had wanted to get BTS-2 out in December, and then January, and then March and now ... Mayor June. Why the delays? There are so many reasons they could fill the next six pages. 6 Here's the bottom-line: A lot (and I mean a ton) of exciting things are going on behind the scenes at Palladium Books. Unfortwlately, absolute secrecy is a necessity (in some cases, with a really nasty nondisclosure clause to back 'em up). As are result, I can't tell you about what's going on. Alii can say are things like - "It's cool. It's big. It's exciting. Wait till you hear," and similar nondescript strings of adjectives. Hopefully, it doesn't all sound like a bunch of empty hype. I can tell you this much, we are looking to take Palladium Books to new levels of excitement in role-playing and into the mainslream. Like everything in the world, this requires a lot of work bu ilding a slrong foundation and making the right deals. A lot of that work is invisible, and the foundation, like an iceberg at sea, is mostly invisible, hidden beneath the waves. However, it should all payoff in big ways, not just for me and the company, but for our fans. Again, I can't reveal the multitude of ideas and possibilities we are exploring or the groundwork being laid, but if everything goes well, the next five years should surprise, amaze and thrill everybody out of their minds. This involves more than Rifts and the Rifts Movie, though Rifts will pave the way for many of the things that should follow. Inevitably, someone online will suggests that I don't give a damn about our fans or we wouldn 't delay books for months and months. This typically means one of two things, either the individual doesn't like me or Palladium, or this poor guy or gal is unhappy, disappointed and frustrated with the many delays because he or she has been looking forward to something for months. That frustration is coming out as anger and negativity. Truth be told, I don't blame these people for being disappointed and grousing. I hate it when a book I'm looking forward to is delayed, especially if it is repeatedly delayed. It's human nature to think, "Hey, what's the deal? This sucks!" And it does suck, but it sucks for us too.
Please remember, that no matter how much you want to see the product out, I want books like Rifts® China 2 and BTS-2 in publication a thousand times more. For one thing, I'm the guy catching the heat and looking bad for the delays, and nobody wants to look bad. For another, these are my "babies." I want them born into the world more than anybody. And even if it were true that we didn't give a damn about our fans (which isn't true), these books represent income for Palladium Books, and every delay costs us money and causes cash flow problems. That means every delay has to have a good reason! Lastly, it is precisely because we do care about our fans and the quality of our products that we often delay releases. We want every book we do to be the best. We want them to be full of new and exciting ideas that tantalize and challenge the reader. We want people to pick up that book and say, "wow, this is awesome," and spend endless hours gaming. We aren't going to bang out garbage to make a fast buck or to make people quit complaining because we're late. Besides, gamers aren't stupid. They recognize gems from garbage and don't appreciate the garbage. Personally, I'm dying to finish Beyond the Supernatural 2. I can taste it. I hunger for it. Some days I feel like I could explode with ideas, but other responsibilities and the long-tenn welfare and benefit of my company. staff and Palladium's future has to take precedence over my personal desires. That's why "my" books arc so often the ones to get delayed. I figure (rightly or wrongly) that if BTS-2 is this late, it's better to make sure some of the other books, like Naruni Wave 2, Splicers, Dinosaur Swamp, United Worlds of Warlock and others get out on time (or close to it), rather than push through BTS-2 and delay everything. And sometimes everything gets delayed anyway. There is often a domino effect that can send everything toppling out of schedule, and it seems that's what we're experiencing now. For example, a lot of wonderful things are taking shape at Palladium Books, but nothing is easy. I didn't write a single word last week, even though I put in 90 hours of work. I spent almost the entire week negotiating an important contract, and the rest of the time dealing with the day to day tasks of running the business. And when I say the entire week, I mean 7-12 hours a day, Monday through Friday, and most of Saturday just on the contract. You see, cutting a deal isn't the simple stuff you see on TV nor is it a friendly handshake. It's hours and hours of discussion, negotiation, compromise and rewriting of language in the agreement. When reviewing a contract, you have to scrutinize and analyze every paragraph and clause. When there's a clause that's "funky" or ''unacceptable,'' you have to figure out what the problem is, how to fix it, how the changes may affect other elements of the agreement, talk to your attorneys about it, get their input, devise new language that not only does the job you want but that you think the other party will accept, and then submit it to them. Typically, a couple of lawyers, my licensing agent and I discuss the situation in a conference call. We all discuss possible solutions (and potential problems), someone writes a new clause, and then we submit it to the other side. The other party gets it, goes through the same process on their end, and, nine out often times, submits yet another version with different language that has to be reviewed, analyzed and discussed all over again. This can go back and forward several times until 7 all parties can reach a middle ground. It's all very time conswning. complicated and hard work. When the dust clears, all our fans hear is the exciting news, oblivious to the back story and long hours of negotiation it took to make the deal happen. In £wo days last week, I reviewed six different red-lined drafts of the same 30+ page contract, and spent something like 10 hours on the telephone discussing various issues! In the end, we hammered out the deal. It's a good one and everyone should be happy with it when the news breaks, but I lost an entire week and fee l exhausted. The week before I spent packing up my house and moving into a new place. Bear in mind that this is all in addition to the "normal" day to day demands of running a business, handling advertising, developing marketing strategies, dealing with problems that may crop up, as well as coordinating freelance artists and writers, and in my case, oying to write and edit - not to mention trying to have a life. (Which, in case you're wondering, I don't have right now! A 90 hour work week is pretty typical for me. Heck, I'm writing this at 9:30 PM after a crazy day that started at 7:30 AM.) And the awesome crew at Palladiwn Books all regularly put in 50-60 hour work weeks. I'm not complaining - I love my job. I love writing games. I love working with other artists and writers. I love marketing and advertising. I enjoy the wheeling and dealing (and I'm good at it). And I even don 't mind putting my personal life on hold right now. Nor am 1 trying to make excuses for the delays or drum up sympathy. I just want you, the people who buy our books and who are very imponant to us, to understand why BTS-2 is so late, and why our entire schedule has been knocked off kilter. It's NOT because we don't care, it's because these are wild and crazy times at Palladium. Good crazy, but wild and crazy nonetheless. And to the often asked question: "Why do you announce the release of a title before you know you can hit the release date?" Because when we made the announcement we thought we could hit the release date. I never dreamed BTS-2 or Rifts® ChiDa 2 would be delayed over and over again this long. Never in a million years. I guess in closing, please know that we aren't clowning around and don't think that we don't care about you or our release schedule. Please know that we are working hard to make the best books we can. Please know that we hope to make the delayed books spectacular. Also know that neither Palladium Books or I plan on going anywhere. Role-playing games is where our hearts lie and that's what we plan on doing for another 20 years. I'll do my best to get BTS-2 out in May, though I can't promise it won't slip into June, and we have Erick chained to his desk buried under piles of reference books on China right now. The manuscript for our new science fiction game, Splicers, by Cannen Bellaire, is in our hands. and so is Todd Yoho's Rifts® Dinosaur Swamp, both of which should be out, on time. in June. Meanwhile, I hope you enjoy the liltle sneak. preview from Beyond tbe Supernatural2™. Keep the faith and game on. - Kevin Siembieda, April 2004
Palladium News Palladium's Convention Calendar Kevin and crew are busy folks, but are making time for a handful of Conventions in 2004. Check ' em out. May 11-14 - E3 Electronics Entertainment Expo (Guest), L.A., California. June 24-27 - Origins Game Expo (exhibitor & running game events). Columbus, Ohio. August 19-22 - OeD Con Indy (exhibitor), Indianapolis, indiana. October 1-3 - Trinity Con (exhibitor & nmning gaming events). Southfield, Michigan. Under consideration - Dragon Con (Sept. in Atlanta) and U-Con (Nov. in Ann Arbor, Michigan). Origins® Game Expo 2004 - June 24-27 The place for PaUadium garners to meet Palladium Books is going all out this year to make Origins the place for Palladium fans to gather, game and have a blast. For those of you who don't know, Origins is one afthe largest game conventions in the world. Last year's attendance hovered somewhere around 15,000 gamers, and this year they expect even more. The convention is located in downtown Columbus, Ohio, where there are arnple hotels, good restaurants and fun to be had for everyone. Garners come from across the Un ited States and Canada, with some visitors even coming from overseas! This year, we hope a large number of the garners will be Palladium fans, and from what we're hearing online, there will be plenty of 'em coming from coast to coast. We invite YOU to join the fun. This should be the biggest, coordinated gathering of Palladium gamers ever! Palladium Books is doing its share to make the experience a rewarding one by coordinating over 30 official Palladium gaming events and by bringing in more Palladium personalities than ever before. Confirmed Guests at the Palladium Booth #932 • Kevin Siembieda - Author, designer, publisher and owner of Palladium Books. • Erick Wujcik - Game designer and writer of Rifts® Cbina 1 & 2, After the Bomb® RPG, Ninjas & Superspies, Mystic China, and the TMNT RPG, as well as the Amber Diceless RPG. • By Kevin Siembieda (tbe guy wbo sbould know) • Palladium staff members - Wayne Smith, Steve Sheiring and other Palladium folks. • Carmen Bellaire - Author of Powers Unlimited™ 1 & 2 and the Splicers™ RPG. • Carl Gleba - Author of Three Galaxies and The rufts Megaverse BuilderTM. • Todd Yoho - Contributor to The Rifter® and author of Rifts® Dinosaur SwampTM. • Ramon Perez - Artist supreme of far too many books to list. • Mark Dudley and Brandon C. Clark from Drunken Style Studio. • Apollo Okamura - Artist, fan favorite and all around nice guy. • And with any luck, author and anist, Wayne Breaux Jr. (not yet confumed), and possibly others. Each and every one will be available to chat with fans and sign autographs by the truckload. The anists will also be selling "original" artwork, some at special low prices for the convention. Also at the Palladium Booth #932 • New releases! Should include Beyond the Supernatural 2 (soft cover and the hardcover limited edition), Rifts® Dinosaur Swamp, SplicersTM RPG, and Rifts® China I & 2. With many of the creators at your disposal to sign the books you purchase. • Back stock titles for each and every line, including The rufter®, issues #1-13. • Rare and out of print books, sold on a first come, first served basis. • Convention Specia ls. • Limited Edition prints a nd portfolios. • Original Artwork for sale by the artists. • T-Shirts and convention only items. • The debut of the Splicers™ RPG. • The latest news on all the goings-on at Palladium straight from the people who know. Palladium Gaming Events Over 30 gaming events arranged by Palladium Books. All will be run by Palladium staff members, freelancers and friends, including Kevin Siembieda, Carl Gleba, Cannen Bellaire, Roger Cartier, Todd Yoho, Stan Bundy, Levi Johnstone, James Brown, Keny Cook, Paul Williams, Brandon Aten and Daniel Ross . • Two games run by Kevin Siembieda: A Palladium Fantasy game set in the Northern Wilderness on Thursday night at 8:00 pm, and a Beyond the Supernatural™ Two game on Friday night at 8:00 pm. Up to 12 players in each. • Six Rifts® gaming events.
• Two Rifts® Chaos Earth™ gaming events. • Two Rifts® Phase World® games. • Six Palladium Fantasy RPG® gaming events (one by Siembieda himself). • Five Heroes Unlimited™ gaming events. • Five Robotech® gaming events. • One Beyond the SupernaturafTM Two game, by Kevin Siembieda. • Plus other games by people who didn't contact Palladium directly as well as open gaming. Hey, would you like to run something? There's still time for YOU to contact the Origins people and arrange for even more events. Anybody who wants to run a 3-4 or 5·6 hour game session can contact Mark A. Santillo: Director of Events at - evenls@gama.org - to make arrangements. Though you 've missed getting listed in the Pre-Registration book1et. Convention Info - www.originsgames.com Want tojoin the fun? Contact: 303·635-2223 for more information about the convention and how to attend or check out the Origins convention website at www.originsgames.com - and tell them Palladium Books sent you. Seriously, they want to know if you're coming to Origins specifically (or primarily) for Palladium Books and its gathering of Palladium gamers. Contact Mark A. Santillo: Origins Director of Events at - events@gama.org - to run events. Let's make this summer sizzle, Palladium style, at Origins - June 24-27 E3 - Electronic Entertainment Expo-May 11-14 I, Kevin Siembieda, will be a guest at E3, to be held in Los Angeles, California, May 11-14. I'll be there to participate in press conferences and as a guest at the booth of a major company. That company will be promoting an exciting new license to be announced at E3. I will also be available to sign autographs and chat with fans, so if you're coming to the show, please feel free to track me down. At this time, I am not at liberty to disclose who that company is or what the announcement is about. Sony. On the other hand, they and 1 should be located in the main hall, and I don't think this booth will be difficult to find in the least. Call on me if you visit the show. Trinity Game Convention - Michigan - October 1-3, 2004 While Origins should be our big, summer convention extravaganza, we also want to point to two notable local Michigan conventions. 9 One is U~Con held on the campus of the University of Michigan. Fans who attended last year know how much fun we all had there, and there is a good chance that I and/or other Palla· dium staffers will be attending the show. A lot depends on my schedule. We'll keep you posted. The other is Trinity Con held in Southfield, Michigan, October 1-3, at the Southfield Hilton. Palladium Books (and Steve Jackson Games) will have a large presence at this convention with our own large gaming room and exhibitor space. The advantage of this small, fun convention (they anticipate 500-700 garners this year) is that you have more intimate surrounding where you can chat with me, Palladium staffers, and other guests in a quiet setting and for a greater period of time. in addition, I (Kevin Siembieda), Cannen Bellaire and other Palladium people plan on running several gaming events (1 hope to run at least four games over the weekend). So this could be your chance to play in two, three or more games with me and other Palladium personalities. something that isn't likely at the big conventions where there are thousands of people trying to book a limited number of gaming events. Also, you will be able to enjoy panel discussions, get autographs and meet other Palladium folks like Wayne Smith (Editor of The Rifter®), Julius Rosenstein (palladium staffer and contributing writer and proofreader), Ca rmen Bellaire (freelance writer with Powers Unlimited I & 2, and Splicers to his credit), Roger & Randi Cartier (freelance contributors, Game Masters, and have gamed with Kevin for 15 years), among possible others. As always, Palladium's large booth will offer new products, back stock and other odds and ends. And the above does not even taking into consideration the many other gaming events, open gaming, dealer room, anime room, SJG events, and other good stuff that will be going on thet weekend. Those of you in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and Windsor, should especially keep this show in mind. We hope to see a lot of Palladium garners at this and all the shows we attend. Convention Support Palladium Books is glad to support gaming conventions, large and small, by providing select product (often signed by the staff) as special prizes and for charity auctions, but most notably, we are glad to send hundreds (sometimes thousands) of copies ofTbe Rifter® or other books as FREE giveaways to the garners who attend the convention. We print extra copies of every few issues of The Rifter® for this very purpose. Gamers love it and it's Palladium's way to help support the gaming community and encourage role-playing. We've been doing this for years, but have recently realized that a lot of convention organizers aren't aware of this policy, so we're making this announcement at the onset of convention season. Palladium Books bas given away more tban 6000 copies of The RiOer® tbis year. Make us a part of your convention fun too. All we need from you is . . • The name and date of the convention. Estimated attendance.
Name of the convention organizer and contact person. A "street" mailing address to ship giveaways. Proof of the convention (program books and website are sufficient). Contact: Steve Sheiring by telephone (734-946-1156; this is an order and convention line only) to take advantage of our offer for your convention. Retailer Locator Do you have a favorite game store that sells Palladium roleplaying products and wish more gamers knew about it? Well now you can help your store and other gamers by telling the store owner or manager about Palladium's new, online Retailer Directory. This Directory is intended to publicize stores that offer Palladium products and to help gamers track down product in their neck of the woods. Gamers frequently ask us if we know about a store in their area that sells Palladium Books products, runs events or offers open gaming. Now, with your help, we can point them to the Retailer Directory. To register, all the store needs to do is ... • Go to our web page (www.palladiumbooks.com).click on to the Retailer Directory, and enter the store information. Please include the following: • E-mail address. • Store name. • Street address. • Telephone number (optional). • What Palladium Products are camed: Le., "Entire Line of Palladium Books' games" or "Rifts and Heroes Unlimited," or "Core Palladium RPGs and the latest releases," and so on. • Special Events such as meetings, game nights, area for open gaming, demo-days, etc. Spread the word. Rifts® Movie News For those of you who haven't heard, Palladium Books has signed an option with Walt Disney Pictures to have J erry Bruckheimer develop a live action, major motion picture based on the Rifts® role-playing game. Palladium is still not at liberty to reveal anything about the movie at this time, but Jerry Bruckheimer, himself, told a Rifts fan in an open forum on the Bruckheimer website that writer, David Franzoni, the man who wrote the screenplay for Gladiator (and I believe won an academy award for it), has been brought in to work on the script for the Rirts® Movie. This came straight from Jerry and is good news indeed. Palladium discovers a mole in the Office! "He must be an industry spy sent by Wizards of the Coast!" exclaimed Steve, moving out of the way. "Or Wh ite Wolf or even Steve Jackson," piped in Julius. 10 Tensions began to rise as we positioned ourselves to stop the intruder. "How could this happen?" said Wayne,"How did he get inside the building? The doors are always closed and locked?!" It was the first week of March, but it was well below freezing outside, and had been for several weeks. "The mole who came in from the cold," chuckled Julius. "Quick, don't let him get away." 1 shouted, grabbing Steve's coffee mug to use against him. "What's going on?" asked Hank who had come to see what all the commotion was about. Alex was right behind him. " I thought I heard someone say they cornered a mole," responded Alex. "You mean a rnouse?"said Hank. "Do you have it, Kev?" asked Wayne. "Yep." "What's a mole doing in the office?" puzzled Hank. "Don't they live underground and sleep in the Winter?" "Yeah, and it's so small it has to be a baby," noted the fearleSS Publisher with the criner caught under the coffee mug. "What are you going to do with it? Flush him?" asked Hank. "No, don't kill it." pleaded Wayne on the animal's behalf. "Yeah, we have to interrogate him first," grinned Julius as the Aikido Master flexed his muscles. "No, I'm not flushing him. I'm tossing him back outside." "But who knows what trade secrets he'll take away with him." said Julius. "Could be a mutant animal," said Alex, "we never had a mole until Erick Wujcik moved in, and you know Erick and mutants and animals." "Yeah, at least have Erick check it out for mutation." quipped Steve, always looking out for Palladium's best interests. "It's too cold out. How is he going to dig underground?" queried Wayne. "He's an animal, and he carne from outside. He'll be fine." I retorted. "I still think we should interrogate the little fella. Don't for· get about Perphone (an inside joke)." snickered Julius who seemed to find the situation an opportunity to be silly. "Just get the door, will ya?" I groaned. "He'll be fine." And just like that, it was over. •••••••••• See, this is some of the raw excitement you have to look forward to when you're in the publishing business. FUMY though, that the mole appeared just one week before the GAMA Trade Show, and Steven Wieck (Wh ite Wolf) and Steve Jackson both came by the booth to chat. So did Dave Kenzer (Kenzer Co.) for that maner. Coincidence, or mutant animal spy? Hmm. Maybe I should have consulted with Erick before letting it free, after all. And then there were those two fans who showed up on our doorstep back in October. A guy and his girlfriend who claimed to be from Gennany on their way to Oregon for a family wedding. When they found out that Palladium's offices were five
minutes from the airport. and they had a two hour layover, they came by to say hello. I let them take photographs of me and the life-sized alien (you know, from the movie Aliens), and the office, and even the warehouse. Why would a fan want pictures of a warehouse!?! I smell conspiracy!! Just kidding about that conspiracy sruff, but we did have a couple of nice garners from Gennany stop by the office to see if they could take a peek inside and say hello. Normally, we don't allow "tours" of the office, but since they had come from so far away and had spent taxi money on the off-chance that they could see the place, how could I say no? It was fun. Coming Attractions As explained in this issue's From the Desk oj, a number of positive but disruptive things have knocked our schedule completely out of whack. Consequently, the following list and dates are tentative. Tentative Spring & Summer 2004 Release Schedule April. 2004 April 23 - Rifts® Dimension Book 8: Naruni™ Wave Two - $13.95 - 96 pages. (The Naruni are back on Rifts Earth with a vengeance.) At the printers and on schedule. April 29 - The Rifter® #26 - $9.95 - 128 pages. MaY,2004 May 19 - Beyond the Supernatural™ RPG, 2nd Edition - $22.95 - 192 pages. (Sorry about the delay.) I doubt it, but we'll try for the end of May or early June. May 28 - Rifts® China Two: Heroes of the Celestial Court - $17.95 - 160 pages. That's our target, but we don't know if we can hold that release date. May? Rifts® Dimension Book 9: United Worlds of Warlock™ (for Phase World®) - $17.95 - 160 pages. We may still try for a May release, but this book is likely to be rescheduled for a July or August release. The cover by John Zeleznik is done. June, 2004 June 4 - Rifts® World Book: Dinosaur SwampTM - $17.95 - 16Opages. June 18 - Splicers™ Role-Playing Game - fmal size and price not yet determined. June 21 - Rifts® Chaos Earth™: NEMATM Mission Book One (tentative) - $10.95 - 64 pages. To Be Rescheduled: Beyond the SupernaturatTM: Tome Grotesque - 96 or 144 pages - $13.95 or $15.95 depending on the fmal page count. Probably a June or July release. 11 Beyond the Supernatural™: Arcanum Sourcebook - $17.95 - 160 pages. Probably an August or September release. July, 2004 July 14 - Rifts® Mercenaries Two: Mer'Ctown™ - $17.95 - 160 pages. Other title(s) likely to be added. August. 2004 Rifts® Mercenaries Three: Merc Weapons & Gear - $17.95 - 160 pages. Other tille(s) likely to be added. Other titles slated for 2004 These books are tentatively planned for 2004 but not yet scheduled with a specific release date. Not listed in any particular order. Rifts® Anno Rifts® Lazlo (the City State of) Rifts® Dragons & Gods™ Rifts® Australia Two Rifts® Adventure Sourcebook 6 Palladium Fantasy®: Book of Magic (items) and Monsters™ Palladium Fantasy®; Mysteries of Magic™ Palladium Fantasy®: Land ofthe Damned™ Three Heroes Unlimited® sourcebooks Mechanoid® Space RPG (realistically, probably 2005) Plus more out of print books back in stock. Note: See the rest of Coming Soon and Palladium's Spring 2004 Catalog (included as the last 32 pages of this issue) for details on these and all of Palladium's game lines. Five BIG Summer Releases Beyond the Supernatura[1'M Role-Playing Game, Second Edition. We're working hard to make this a different and exciting role-playing game of horror, suspense and the supernatural. Check out the write-up for it elsewhere as well as the sneak preview that follows this section. Date of Release: I'll be shooting for a May release, but it might slip inlo June. This game and subsequent sourcebooks are defmitely in the line up for this summer. Splicers™ is a cool, new science fiction role-playing game from the wild imagination of Carmen Bellaire. We had no intention of doing a new science fiction game other than Mechanoid Space™, but when Carmen pitched me his ideas for Splicers, it was love at first sight and I signed him to a contract. Carmen has spent the last four months writing and polishing Splicers. I'll be putting the fmishing touches on the project and assigning artwork soon. Date of Release: We are shooting to get this exciting game setting out as a middle of June release. In fact. it should debut at Origins. Rifts® China Two - RifiS® China One was received with great enthusiasm and Rifts® China Two will be even hotter.
China Two is a player's delight, packed with new O.C.C.s, martial arts, mystic powers, magic and morc. As soon as Erick fmishes it up, we will paste it up and send it to the printers. Date of Release: Ideally May, at worst, June. Rifts@ Dinosaur Swamp, a world book that will present Florida, other parts of the southeast, dinosaurs, mutants and advenrure. Another long awaited Rifts® World Book. Date of Release: Early June. Rifts® MercTown - the first of three new books devoted to the Mercenaries of North America. Followed by Rifts® MercTown Two and Anno, a mercenary based city-state located in Arizona. Date of Release: Summer 2004. Heroes Unlimited™ RPG - Back in print and available now Heroes Unlimited, 2nd Edition is the most recent incarnation of one of the most popular super-hero role-playing games ever made. It has been continuously in print for 20 years and continues to please comic book fans and gamers alike. This comprehensive, 352 page tome lets players create virtually every type of super being imaginable (and Powers Unlimited™ One provides an extra I 00+ super abilities and Powers Unlimited Two offers another ten Power Categories - types of super beings.). • Ten Power Categories: Aliens. Mutants, Cyborgs, Robots, Magic, Mega-Heroes, Psychics, Hardware. and others. • More than 1 00 super abilities and scores of sub-powers. • 40+ psionic abilities, I 00+ magic spells and a whole lot more. • A complete role-playing game where every type of superhuman imaginable is made possible. • Cover by Jim Steranko. Wrinen by Kevin Siembieda. • $26.95 - 352 pages. Powers Unlimited™ Two For Heroes Unlimited'" - Available now This sourcebook is available now, but with the tremendous response it has garnered and the slew of super-hero movies coming out, it bears mentioning. Powers Unlimited™ Two is a high-concept package filled with new approaches for super-heroes and supported with all kinds of background and power tables, new sub-powers, new super abilities, gizmos and new ideas. This sourcebook is important for anyone trying to caprure the full scope and feel of comic book super-heroes. • 10 new Power Categories, each creating a unique brand of superhuman. • Immortals and Immortal Demigods. • Genetic "designer heroes" (Eugenics) and strange Gestalt superbeings. • Supersoldiers widely expanded and a new type of Weapon Master. 12 • Heroes empowered through Symbiotic organisms. • The Natural Genius and his mental disciplines. • Empowered Heroes who struggle to overcome personal adversity. • The Imbued Hero, Minor Heroes, sidekicks and more - plus some new super abilities. • Written by Cannen Bellaire and Kevin Siembieda. • $13.95 - 96 pages. Rifts®/Phase World® Megaverse® Builder™ Carl Gleba, author of the popular Phase World®: The Three Galaxies™, has created a sourcebook and guide to help Game Masters create their own alien dimensions and worlds. A great tool for G.M.s and fun for players: The Rifts® Megaverse® Builder (previously titled the RiftS® Djmension Bujlder). • Rules, suggestions and tables for generating dimensions. • Dimensional anomalies and other strangeness. • The Shifter "Revisited" plus a few new dimension traveling O.C.C.s. • Dimensional Familiars and other weird crearures. • A few sample dimensions. adventure ideas. The Mechanoids® and more. • For use with Rifts@and Phase World®. • Written by Carl Gleba. Cover by Mark Evans. • $13.95 - 96 pages. Available now. Phase World® Dimension Book 8: Naruni Wave Two The Naruni - trans-dimensional weapons dealers - have returned to Rifts Earth and are offering a new array of weapons, annor and vehicles. They're also looking to give the Coalition Stales some payback by selling their illegal goods to Tolkeen
Freedom Fighlers, Julian's Juicers and ochers with a hatred for the CS. • New Naruni weapons and explosives. • Power armor, robots, armored veh icles and more. • The Molock Naruni Enforcer revealed at last. • Background on the Naruni and a ton of adventure ideas. • Written by Bellaire, Nowak, Rosenstein, and Siembieda. • $13.95 - 96 pages. Cover by Freddie Williams. Shipped April 23. Coming Soon Phase World® Dimension Book 9: United Worlds of Warlock One more comer of the Three Galaxies is explored, presenl· ing key worlds, people, places, hubs, gods and cults of the UWW, as well as a variety of new spacecraft, weapons, equip. ment and magic. • Key planets, moons, people and cultures in the United Worlds of Warlock. • New O.C.C.s, including the Astral Elves, Shadow Psy· chics, Knights of the Covenant, Void Rangers, and olhers. • New weapons, equipment, rune weapons and magic items. • Church oflhe Anvil, dark covens and cults. • LightningtElectrical Elemental Magic. • Shadow and Sound Elemental Magic. • Adventure ideas galore. For Phase World®. • Written by Dan iel Bishop. Cover by John Zeleznik. • $17.95 - 160 pages. World Book 25: Rifts® China 2 Heroes of the Celestial Court Rifts® China, Book Two will have it all. Focuses on lhe heroes and beings (and lhat means player characters) who op. pose lhe Yama Kings, fight fo r humanity and hide among lhe sacred mountains and meadows of China. Oriental monks, Demon QueJlers, Soolhsayers, martial arts masters and more. • The involvement oflhe Celestial Court. • Heroes, avatars oflhe gods, and superhumans. • O.C.C.s include the Demon Queller, Soolhsayer, various monks and more. • Martial artist character classes - Rifts® style! • Mystic powers, Oriental Magic Tattoos, magic weapons and more! • Secret Monasteries where the Demon Quellers and other champions are trained. • The soldiers and technology oflhe Geo·Front. • Written by Erick Wujcik. Cover by John Zeleznik. • $17.95 - 160 pages. 13 Rifts® World Book: Dinosaur Swamp This book will surprise and delight readers as a portion of the east coast of North America is outlined and described for the first time. The imagination of Todd Yoho will take players to places they never imagined even existed. And if you're looking for dinosaurs and general weirdness ... look no farther. • Mega-Damage Dinosaurs galore. • Mutanl Dinosaurs and Random Mutations. • New O.C.C.s, including Wilderness Barbarians, Eco-Wizards, and others. • The Secret of the Swamps - Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas all outlined. • More world background, adventure and adventure ideas. • Written by Todd Yoho. Cover by John Zele2l'lik. • $17.95 - 160 pages. Rifts® Chaos Earth™ Sourcebook 3: NEMATM Mission Book 1 The Chaos Earth™ series is a success, and Mission Book One is the latest sourcebook for this continuing series. It takes a look al NEMA, their missions, survival, heroics and adventure, but the main story focuses on the appearance of a rogue cell of the military that has decided to claim the Chicago area for themselves. The heads of this rogue cell - Juicers - including a few unlike any seen before. • A Juicer Special Forces operation makes its bid for power, making this the fltsl Juicer Uprising. • Some new weapons, vehicles and gear. • More on NEMA plus adventure scenarios, adventure ideas and settings. • Completely compatible with Rifts®. • Written by Siembieda. Bellaire, and others. • $10.95 - 64 pages. SplicersTM A New Role-Playing Game Splicers™ is a new science fiction role·playing game sel on a devastated world where machines rule, and human beings are vermin who are hunted and exterminated. The human struggle is complicated by a nano-virus that instantly turns metal objects touched by human flesh into killing machines. Consequently, humans have been forced to turn to organic technology to battle the world-dominaling machines if they hope to reclaim any portion of their planet for themselves. • The human resistance, their genetically spliced weapons and power armor, secret cities and plans to retake their world. • The machine mind that rules from on high and commands its robot legions like a psychotic general.
• The nano·plaguc and its ramifications. • Human O.C.C.s, strongholds and world background. • A new, stand·alone role·playing game heavy on science fiction. • Mega.Oamage system - compatible with RiftS®, Chaos Earth™, and Phase World1!.l. • Written by Cannen Bellaire. Additional text by Kevin Siembieda. • $22.95 - 192 pages. Beyond the Supernatural'M RPG BTS·2TM is a stark. plausible reality where ghosts, demons, psychics, and magic are real, yet remain unknown to the world at large. Player characters are part of the secrets, part of the problems, and humanity's only true hope of dealing with the un· explained. Truly unique characters that will challenge and excite those who play them. • New P.C.C.s include the Psychic Medium (and Spirit Guide), the Diviner and Autistic Psychic Savant, and others, all with new and unique abilities. • Characters like the Psychic Sensitive, Nega·Psychic and other original P.C.C.s get a face·Jift, new powers, and new details. • The secrets of the supernatural, ESP, and magic revealed. • Victor Lazlo and his lasting legacy: The Lazlo Agency. • More world background and guides to adventure. • Horror, mystery, monsters, and more. • Top artists, highest production values. • Writing by Kevin Siembieda and Randy McCall. New rna· terial by Siembieda. • $22.95 - 192 pages. Cover by John Zeleznik. Tome Grotesque Sourcebook for Beyond the SupernaturalT • A legion of monsters, demons and things that go bump in the night. • New supernatural creatures and menaces and how they function in our modem world. • More world background and guides to adventure. • Top artists, highest production values. • Written by Kevin Siembieda. • $13.95 - 96 pages (may be expanded to 144 and a $15.95 price). • Compatiblc with Nightbane®, Heroes Unlimite(/TM, RifiS®, and Chaos Earlh™. ,4 Fleas Optional Source Material for Systems Failure™ By J osepb Larsen Recently discovered on Earth, "Fleas" are parasites that plague thc Bugs, having apparently followcd them to our planet. Even though humans call them "Fleas," they are actually more like ticks in their function. However, they do have some charac· teristics of both the fleas and ticks that are found on Earth. Like the Earth tick, they can attach themselves to a host, and burrow to feed for extended periods. They are like Earth fleas because they can jump 10 feel (3 m) high and they do strongly resemble a flea, except much bigger, about Y1 inch long (1.3 cm). Dangers to Bugs The Fleas are natural parasites to the Bugs. They can even at· tach to a Bug and travel with it while in its Bio·Energy fonn. Fleas can't transfonn into energy by themselves, so they need to be touching a Bug when it is either already in or morphing into Bi<rEncrgy fonn in ordcr to transfonn. The Bug's Bio·Encrgy is what the Fleas actually feed on, so naturally most of the feed· ing takes place while the Bug is in this fonn. In physical fonn, the Fleas will attempt to find and attach to the Bug's blasters in order to feed. They'll often try to burrow into the base of the blasters to feed from the energy source. Because they also carry diseases, there is a 7% chance, per Flea, that the Bug will be infected with a disease. There is also a 4% chance, per Flea, that the Bug will actually mutate slightly from the Flea's bite. Thus the sick Bug's fate is sealed because thc Bugs don't toleratc mutations or disease amongst their own. Now that humans have realized what the Fleas can do, they are always trying to find ways to use them to attack the Bugs. On the downside, there are dangers to humans that come with the use this weapon, which are discussed later. The Fleas have a knack for smelling all Bugs, except Silkwonns, up 10 lO feet (3 m) away. But, if a Flea tastes a Silk· worm Zombie's blood, it will burrow into the body to get to the larva. The most fatal situation for a Zombie is when the Flea starts burrowing in or around the head area. This exposes the blood supply near or in the head to poison and acid. There is lit· tie or no chance of the Zombie surviving an attack to the head, even if by just one Flea. The Zombie will be killed in 104 min· utes. II will take 1D6xlO minutes to kill a Silkworm Zombie if the Flea is burrowing somewhere other than the head area. The Zombies can survive longer than a normal human could becausc of their ability to manipulate the body's functions and defenses. The Bug tiers don't matter to the Fleas. Their main targcts are the Bugs that morph into the Bio·Energy fonn most often, which could vary from Bug to Bug in any tier. In any case, the Fleas will still attack any Bug in their sensing range. If the Flea can't find any energy sources on its host, or if the hosl doesn't
transfonn into Bio-Energy within 104 days, then the Flea will attempt to find another host. If a Flea is caught in a Bug Motel with a Bug, the Flea will devour the Bug's Bio-Energy, thus killing the Bug. A Flea can devour a Bug that is constantly in Bio-Energy fonn in only 204 weeks. Obviously the Bug will be devoured faster with each additional Flea. for example, if a Bug had 4 Fleas when it was trapped in a Motel, then it will take a quarter of the time for the Bug to completely disappear. Once the Bug is gone, the trap will rum off since there isn't anything to contain. Then the Fleas will emerge from the trap in physical fonn. The Fleas are also able to morph and cling to a Bug that is controlling an electrical device, since it is in energy fonn. The Flea just needs to touch a wire or some conductor that has the Bug's Bio-Energy pulsing through it. Then the Flea can rum lOla energy fonn and feed off of me Bug. A Bug that is in energy free-floating fonn in the area will always be the Fleas' primary target. They will attempt to reach the free-floating energy and try to morph and cling to the Bug. No doubt the Bugs have dealt with these Fleas before in other locations, and so defenses against them must exist. but are unknown to humans at this time. C.M. Note: The most common method of Flea removal is to have annored Silkwonn Zombies use flame-throwers and blowtorches to kill the Fleas. This is tedious work for the Zombies, and damaging to the Bugs. Another method is to freeze the Fleas. and then remove them using metal instruments. This method is less hannful to the Bugs, but also not as common due to the limited availability of the freezing substances needed. On Earth, sources of these, such as liquid nitrogen tanker trucks, have become a hot commodity among both the Bugs and the humans. Dangers to Humans The Fleas arc in no way allies to humans. They have a powerful burrowing ability wim acidic, diseased saliva. Although the disease doesn't affect humans, the acid is very potent and hannful. Simple bare-skin contact with a Flea leaves acid bums wherever it touches, doing 1 S.D.C. per melee per point of contact for up to four melees. Even though the Fleas do not like the taste of humans or animals, they still need to burrow a bit to break the skin to taste their prey. This will leave bad acid bums in and around the open wounds. The wounds are common in Flea encounters and innict ID4 S.D.C. per burrowing bite, plus the acid damage, whether flesh or object. The Fleas will attempt to burrow through clothes and armor in order to taste their prey. A Flea burrowing deep into a human body isn't common, but has happened. Most incidences have occurred while attempting to remove the Flea incorrectly. thus causing the Flea to become irritated and provoked, so it burrows deeper into the body. One Flea can kill a human in a short time if it gets completely into the body. Flea intrusion into the neck area or head will kill a person with in ID4 minutes. If lile intrusion is on the body's limbs, it will cause internal bleeding, bone damage, and even nerve damage. Tourniquets on limbs have proven to be effective in preventing the Flea from burrowing further, as well as keeping lile victim from bleeding to death. Unfortunately, if the Flea 15 intrudes on the main body, immediate surgery is required, and nol always successful. If the bleeding is not stopped, the victim will die from blood loss in 6D6 minutes due to the massive internal bleeding. In any case, fatal or not, a Flea's burrowing is extremely painful. Surviving wi ll likely cause some kind of insanity from trauma. See the Insanity section (page 26) in the Systems Failure™ RPC. Fleas are difficu lt to shoot due to their small size, so normal projectile weapons are almost completely ineffective as a means of killing them. They have a high Natural Annor Rating to protect from physical attacks, but they are susceptible to f1fe and cold. Extreme heat will kill them, while extreme cold will freeze them. They can be thawed, unharmed. from a frozen state at a later time. They can also survive submerged in water for up to 6 hours. The Fleas will also attempt to burrow into any Organitechnology device, including weapons and armor. If one does attach to a point on a weapon where it can feed, it wi ll stay in solid fonn to feed. It will do the initial burrowing damage of I D4 S.D.C. plus the acid damage. Once it breaks in, it will drain I shot from the reserve payload every 6 hours. A Flea's siphoning will also have a 15% chance, per Flea, of in itiating a Zapper's death cycle, not to exceed 75%. The death cycle isn't completely imminent because even if there is onc charge of the primary weapon left, the weapon has a chance of avoiding it. For armor, the feeding does not affect major function, but it will prevent the regeneration of any place that a Flea is currently burrowed into, until removed. No one knows what it will do to the life span, since the Fleas haven't been around very long. G.M. Note: One year will be drained from the armor if one Flea is attached for more than 10 months. Two Fleas will drain 1 year in 7 months, while three Fleas will drain I year in 5 months. NORAD Splicers have also proven to be targets of the Fleas. Fleas will attack them and burrow under lileir skin, thinking that they're Bugs. The Flea will only be able to survive ofT of mose Splicers that have the Bio-Energy Expulsion power. Otherwise, lile Fleas will either die after a week or leave after I D4 days. Even though Splicers won't mutate due to a Fleabite, they do have a 2% chance per Flea of getting sick. The sickness will slow them down for 104 weeks. While sick, they will suffer the following penalties: Lose 2 attacks per melee. Speed is cut in half. Strength is cut in half, which is likely to nullify any damage bonuses from strength. -3 to strike, parry. and dodge. No initiative bonus. Warfare Using Fleas The humans have created weapons and methods to spread Fleas to the Bugs. Some of these are as simple as infested glass bottle bombs or as complex as infected conductor tubes. See below for common designs of Bug traps using Fleas. More methods are being invented as time goes by lilanks to resourcefu l freedom fighters and NORAD. Many have frowned upon use of the Fleas in a well-populated area. Their clean up after use is far from perfect, which of-
ten leaves stray Fleas to afflict innocent people. Ulcerous bites are a plague to all, and innocent civilians have died from trying to remove a Flea incorrectly. Larger militias might warrant the use of Fleas in populated areas and consider the losses part of the price of war. Smaller groups generally consider the acceptance of civilian or troop losses due to Fleas to be blatantly irresponsible. Clean up after using them, and trying to collect more, is often done by luring them using full Bug Motels, which emit the Bug's Bio-Energy. The most common method is placing a stick), pane of glass or flypaper around the motel. Once stuck to the glass or paper, the Fleas would then be plucked or vacuumed off. Other methods might be using C02 fire extinguishers to freeze the Fleas and then pick them up using insttuments. They are easy to contain in glass once captured, although a glass cap is required to prevent the corrosion of any part of the container. All other materials have proven to be poor containers after periods of time due to the corrosive saliva. Annored hazard suits, or silicon mesh hazard suits are required for clean up in order to stay free from harm. Hazard suits with some type of silicon coating or mesh are the best defense for those that handle, collect or clean up the Fleas. The silicon protects the suit from the acid saliva. Organitech Shriekers do have a "herding" effect on the Fleas. Fleas will jump away from the signal up to the maximum range of the Shrieker. NORAD's think tank is rumored to be working on a way to "milk" the Fleas and use the disease they can)' to lace bullets or even as a means of killing Silkwonns via injection. But, so far, no one has seen any piece of evidence to confinn the rumors. Perpetuating the Parasites Breeding of the Fleas by humans is done in glass tubes and incubators with a conductive gel for the Fleas to lay eggs in. The Fleas and their eggs are fed from the energy of full Bug Motels. The Bio-Energy is used to electrify the gel and therefore provide food for the Fleas. A pair of Fleas can produce about I D4 offspring per week, if they have food. But that rate increases when there are more Fleas. The Fleas take about two weeks to mature into fully capable adults. It takes about two months for the Fleas 10 reach their full size. Feeding, breeding, and incubating take special knowhow. An example of special knowledge is not to directly siphon Bio-Energy from a Bug Motel. This will allow the Fleas to travel into the Motel after the Bug, which is bad. If this happens the only way to retrieve the Flea would be to release the Bug from the Motel, or wait until the Bug is devoured so that the Flea comes oul. So instead, batteries need to be charged from the siphoned Bug Motel, or Organitech batteries need to be acquired. Then the batteries, standing alone. can be used for the feeding. It seems that soon after the Fleas appeared on Earth, the smallest version of these batteries became more widely available. This small size battery offers plenty of energy for the incubation period. It's possible that NORAO has allowed these to be sold and distributed, unlike the larger batteries. OthelWise, incubation for non-NORAD groups would not be very easy. The Fleas can breed quickJy on the Bugs as well. Fleas will lay their eggs on the Bugs as their natural means of spreading. 16 Occasionally a fresh Bug carcass (newer than 104+1 days) can be found with Fleas and Flea eggs on it, since the Fleas can only survive in the wild for up to I week. There is a 5% chance of a dead Bug having any Fleas, since the Bugs completely obliterate those that are sick or mutated. Such findings will likely be a lone Bug that had died from disease. These sightings offer hope that the infested Bugs are taking the Fleas back to their home base and that the Fleas are spreading there. New Skills Flea Warfare: This skill gives the knowledge of how to capture, contain and spread the Fleas. A failed roll will either (01-49%) spread the Fleas beyond the intended range or (50-00%) kill the Fleas. Base Skill: 30% +4% per level. Flea Breeding and Care: This is the knowledge of how to breed and handle the Fleas in many respects. It includes the ability to remove Fleas correctly plus the knowledge to treat people and Organitech objects that have had Fleas burrowed into them. Base skill: 25% +3% per level. Flea Stats Alignment: N/A. Just an indiscriminate need to feed and breed. S.D.C.: 206+5 Natural Armor Rating: 14 Horror Factor: 5 alone, II in swarms. Speed: 18 while jumping. Size: Up to ~ inch in length (1.3 cm).
Natu ral Abilities: I. Burrow into living beings and objects: Burrowing will damage a person's Hit Points directly once under the skin, doing 104 Hit Points per minute. Burrowing into objects and armor does 1 D4 S.D.C. per minute (plus the acid saliva damage). 2. Jump up to JO feet (3 m) high or across. 3. Acid Saliva: Acidic sali va will do 1 S.D.C. per melee. Damage will be inflicted on contact, so even removing the acid with in the melee will still inflict 1 point of damage. It will continue to bum for four melees per place of contact. Glass or objects that have silicone coating or silicone mixed/meshed in will take no damage from the Flea. 4. Sense Bugs and Bia-Energy up to 10 feet (3 m). 5. Sense heat up to 10 feet (3 m). 6. Transform into Bio-Energy with a Bug it is touching. 7. Attach/cling to a Bug that is currently in Bio-Energy fonn: 30% (the Flea will tum into energy). Average Life Spa n: Four years. Cannot survive more than one week without feeding. Cost: Fleas sell on the market for 304 x $5 apiece. Physical Appearance: Similar to a Flea from Earth, with a larger, round abdomen. Special Removal Instructions: Flea removal is something that needs to be done properly or serious consequences can result. If the patient survives a serious, traumatic Flea encounter, roll to save vs insanity. The first thing to remember is that a Flea will not like the taste ofa human. So if lef't alone to taste, it will leave within I D4 minutes. Irritating the Flea by pulling, squeezing, burning, or nicking the Flea will cause more acid to be secreted and cause the Flea to burrow into the body very quickly. The head can continue to burrow without its body. So if simply trying to remove a Flea that is beginning to burrow to taste, use tweezers on the head to pull it off. If the head is not visible, free zing is the best way to stop the Flea and remove it. If the Flea can't be frozen, extreme heat will be needed to kill the Flea. A blowtorch, firework sparkler or hot iron rod are common items that can be used to kill the Flea. If the source is not hot enough, then the Flea will on ly be irritated and will burrow deeper to escape the source of the irritation. Common Flea-Distributing Weapon Designs Most of these weapon designs are effective "poor-man" methods of infesting the Bugs with Fleas. Others are more complex methods of traps and electrical distribution. Many of the weapons are thrown. Those that are thrown, if small enough, can also be launched with a simple waler balloon launcher to increase the range. For these occasions use the W.P. Targeting (ThrowinglMissile Weapons) skill to obtain bonuses. 17 Water Balloon Launcher A water balloon launcher consists of two large, equal sized hoops of latex surgical lUbes. The hoops are linked together by a square patch of nylon or any type of cloth, called the seat. Three people are required for a mobile launcher. Two of the people stand on each side of the third and they each hold the far end of one hoop. The third person in the middle pulls the seat back, stretching the hoops to fonn a giant slingshot. After getting enough tension, loading the ordnance and aiming, the middle person lets go. Other times, the two hoops can be latched to two stable objects. In these cases, only one person is required for operation. More and more, water balloon launchers have been seen dangling from open jeeps and armored personnel carriers where a one-person launcher was used. Range: 100 feet (30.5 m) launching a I-pound (.45 kg) object for an average launcher. Rate of Fire: 4 shots per melee for wild shots, 2 shots per melee for aimed shots. Simple "Flea Cocktail" This is simply a glass container filled with Fleas. The container is thrown in the middle of a group of Bugs, or directly onto one. Once the impact shatters the glass, the Fleas are free to infest. The downside to this method is that once the fill ed bottle is capped with a non-glass plug, in a matter of 104 hours the Fleas will be able to put enough acid on the cap of an upright bottle to allow escape. Fleas in water will not be able to escape if the water is deep enough to prevent jumping. If the bottle without water is on its side or upside down, Fleas will escape in a matter of 1D4 minutes. They will be able to escape in 406 minutes if they are in water and the bottle is upside down or on its side. Damage: None, unless hitting an object: 1D4 S.O.C. plus strength bonuses. Range: Thrown. Varies.
"Flea Firecracker Cocktails" This is a glass bottle filled with Fleas. A plug of some kind (a wad) is shoved down to seal in the Fleas. Then a medium strength frrec racker is shoved in almost all the way into the bottleneck. The fuse is [it and the boUle is thrown. The trick is timing the device so that it will explode in the air. Other times, these can be set as bombs for traps with electrical ignitions. The low explosive frrcworks will injure the Fleas some, but won't kill them if done right. The bottle will shatter completely and scatter the Fleas. The danger of th is one is the same as the simple cocktail, The Fleas will eventually escape. Substitutions for this might be mason jars filled with ficas and a well-pressurized aerosol can. This is ideal for traps. Shooting this will cause the can to explode and the Fleas to be blown in all directions. FIcas will also eat through the aerosol can in 104 minutes if not in water. If in water, then the Fleas will take 406 minutes to puncture the can. Damage: JD6+1 S.D.C.IO me fleas, half to those in the blast radius from flying glass. Blast Radius: 304+2 fee t (1.5-4.3 m). Range: Thrown. Varies. "Dry Ice Bomb" Similar to the NORAO Glow Stick Grenade, but with less sophisticated instruments and design, the Dry Ice Bomb often uses 2-liter bottles for the container, filled less than half way with water. A small beaker is filled with Fleas and is sealed with wax or paper wads since it will be used right away. Then the Fleas and the dry ice are inserted and the bottle is capped and thrown to break the beaker. Unlike the Glow Stick Grenade, this needs to be thrown right away. Damage: None. Blast Radius: 206 feet (0.6-3.6 m). Range: Thrown. Varies. NORAD "Glow Stick Grenade" These are rare and expensive due to the specialized materials involved to make them function. This is the "high-tech" version of the weapon. There are three components that make this work: I) a ball made of strong, hardened rubber filled with water, and with one threaded hole with a screw-on cap, 2) a lest tube with a glass screw-on top filled with up to JO Fleas, 3) a test tube fill ed with dry ice. The grenades come in packs of 20 with the dry ice 18 included in a sealed, well-insulated container. The container will keep the dry ice for 48 hOUTS if unopened and for 24 hours once opened. The Flea rube is inserted into the grenade via the hole, which is closed with its screw-on cap. The other tube of dry ice is sealed into the grenade the same as the Flea tube right before use. Once the grenade is armed and thrown, the impact will break both tubes. The dry ice will expand until there is too much pressure in the grenade. At this point the extreme pressure causes an explosion, which will then spread the Fleas. The grenade needs to be thrown within 104+1 minutes before self-detonating. The wielder can also activate the grenade prior to being thrown. At this point they have 204 seconds to throw the grenade. This method is useful for attempting to detonate the grenade in the air. Damage: None. Blast Radius: 106 feet (0.3-1.8 m). Range: Thrown. Varies. Cost: $300 for a pack of20. Rare. Common Bug Traps Utilizing Fleas A common trap will include a device connected to a line that will mimic an electronic device's activity to lure the Bugs. When the Bugs come through the line, they will trip a breaker. The breaker sets off a small firecracker attached to a glass container with Fleas inside, thus releasing the Fleas to attack the Bugs. Humans need to be careful releasing the Fleas in close proximity, because they will likely get the Fleas on themselves as well. Conductors The Conductors are glass rubes filled with both water and Fleas. At each end of the Container is thick, conductive metal contact that will allow the container to be plugged into an electrical line. When a Bug is lured through the line, it will travel through the glass tube, since water is conductive. The Fleas will then attempt to cling onto the Bug in Bio-Energy fonn. There is a 30% chance that a Flea in physical fonn can cling onto the Bug that is in Bio-Energy form and change into energy with it. A similar method is to place a smaller glass tube(s) filled with water onto the electrical system of a device, then trick a Bug into inhabiting and controlling the machine. Once the electrical systems are active with the Bug's energy, the Flea can attempt to cling to the Bug.
Beyond the SupernaturafM Second Edition Sneak Preview By Keyin Siembieda Q 2004 About the Game Back in 1987, before X·Files. before Vampire the Masquerade, there was Beyond the Supernatura l™, The concepts, at the lime, were so new and different that many garners found themselves at a loss when it came to setting up a campaign. Looking back at it, the original needed more background, setting information and a template for sening up adventures. It also needed sourcebooks and support material that never came. Despile this, the original Beyond the Supernatural RPG was a personal favorite of mine and it did very, selling something in the neighborhood of 18,000 copies and developed a nice cult following, many of whom eagerly await its return as BTS-2. I think they'll like what we've done. The two central concepts beh ind Beyond the Supernatural were, and still are, I) magic and the supernatural are real, and, 2) few people accept the truth. This latter part was the most important aspect best presented by the fictional character of Doctor 19 Victor Lazlo; that the supernatural - ghosts, vampires, werewolves, demons, and all manner of hOITors - is real, and that these creatures have co-existed with humankind since the dawn of man. The problem is modem humans have decided that they are not real. Blinded by arrogance, and perhaps fear, and anned with science, such supernatural reality has been pushed away as superstition and wild imaginings, relegating those who suggest they are real to the realm of lunatics or charlatans. Anyone who dares to claim "mythical" magic and monsters are real gets chastised. laughed at and dismissed as misguided sou ls at best, liars, crackpots and con artists at worst. That pervasive and pernicious denial of the truth has created a shadowy underground world where magic, monsters and the supernatural nourish. A co-existing reality where the holders of arcane knowledge and beings as far removed from humanity as one can imagine roam freely without the restraints of society, morality, the law or retribution. A world inhabited by predators and prey, the hunters and the hunted. the wise and the helpless, master and victim. This is our modem world beyond the light of day, beyond our precious view of reality.
This leaves on ly one question: Are you brave enough to enter this realm knowing that it will open your eyes to wonders and horrors denied to exist in the "real" world? Are you ready to accept the impossible? The inexplicable and unexplainable? If the answer is yes, gentle reader, there is no turning back. Welcome to Beyond the Supernatural Two™. - Kevin Siembieda, 2004 Warning Beyond the Supernatural, 1st & 2nd Edition, is a fictional horror game built on the premise that magic and the supernatural are real, and that society adamantly refuses 10 accept the truth. Working on that premise means magic, monsters, demons, myth and horrific elements are presented as "real," but only in the context ofthisjiclional game. Please nOle that nothing in Beyond the Supernatural Two is real. The magic, spells, psychic abilities, ghosts, monsters, secret organizations, Victor Lazlo, the Lazlo Agency and any apparent theories about the supernatural and the paranormal are entirely make-believe. Fiction spawned from the fertile imaginations of the authors. It is not real! We do NOT encourage the practice of the occu lt, magic, or witchcraft. Nor do we believe it is real. Insight "So, like what can you tell me about Victor Lazlo?" "We ll, he was a pioneer in the field ofa parapsychology. He wrote nine books on the subject, published numerous articles and put forth several theories about the supernatural and how it all works." "Yeah, yeah, I got all that from the website. You knew the guy, right?" "Yes ... I knew him." "Personally, I mean?" "Yes, personally," drawled Robert Mach, head of the Lazlo Agency. He disliked reporters. They never seemed to get the facts straight and always put their own pedestrian slant on things. He especially disliked rude, snot-nosed beginners who got stuck with an assignment they obviously didn't want in the first place, like this guy. "What is it you'd like to know," asked Robert, "that isn'l on the website?" " I don't know, dude. What makes this guy such a guru? I mean, he went missing, what? Back in 1984, and he's still considered like one of the top guys in his fi eld." " I always saw Victor Lazlo as part Gandhi, part Sherlock Holmes, part Einstein and part Huck Finn - visionary, detective, and thinker with a ch ild-like sense of wonder that never faded. He marveled at the world around him and was never afraid to ask how or why. How do things work the way they do? Why do people fear the unknown and hide from the truth? Why do parents tell ch ildren there are no monsters hiding under the bed when there very well might be? "See, that's what I mean. If this guy was such a scientific mind and visionary, why did he ... and you, just now ... say crackpot things like that?" 20 To gel a rise out o/you, thought Robert Mach to himself with a touch of regret. It was never wise to ranle the rafters of a narrow mind. He just didn't have the patience and tolerance for this type of rhetoric. Not like Victor Lazlo, who could look past the condescension without so much as a flinch and press on with cool conviction. "Can I ask you a question, Mr. Sheridan? Asked Robert. "Sure. What is it?" said the reporter. "You don't believe in the paranonnal, do you?" "You mean like, ESP, bending spoons with your mind, ghosts, witchcraft and bogeymen? No, can't say that 1 do. Of course, I don't believe in UFOs, Sama Claus or the Easter Bunny either." " I see," said Robert with a groan. "So you're stuck with this crappy assignment and just trying to get through it, eh?" "Um, well ... nah, I wouldn't say crappy, but you know, I don't believe in this stuff." "Yet I'll bet you or someone you know has at least one ghost story to tell, or have experienced something that defies explanation. A premonition? Deja vu? Am I right?" "Um ... not really." "No? Seriously, Mr. Sheridan. Stop and think for a minute. There has never been something you personally experienced that fits the bill? What about a friend or relative? Be honest." "Okay," grinned the reponer, "my mom says she knew the exact moment my sister gave birth and that it was a little girl with red hair, even though they were two thousand miles apart. But that's, you know, like ... " "A coincidence?" "Yeah, exactly. A weird coincidence." "No other weird experience?" "Urn, there was this time in college, okay. We were in this cemetery and ... but you know, we were pretty drunk." "What did you see? A ghost?" "Yeah. I mean, no. I mean, we thought we did. Scared the shit out of us, man. But like I said, we were pretty trashed, you know. And we were just a bunch of stupid college kids being wise guys and scaring ourselves silly." "Mr. Sheridan, you've j ust helped to prove the point Victor Lazlo tried to make his entire life. The supernatural and the unexplained happen every day. Every single day, Mr. Sheridan. And not to freaks, weirdos and charlatans, but to ordinary people like you and your mother. Yet even the people who experience the paranonnal event refuse to accept it. You dismiss your mother's clairvoyant nash of insight as just a 'weird coincidence.' You've chosen to disbelieve your own eyes and convince yourself that your encounter with a ghost wasn't real at all, but that it was a booze-induced hallucination. Apparently a hallucination you and your, what, three, four, five buddies also experienced? Do you know how rare mass hallucination really is? "Yeah," smiled the reporter, "I did a piece on it last year. It's about as rare as real amnesia. You're more likely to get hit by lighming than experience either one of them in your lifetime." Now it was Robert Mach's rum to smile. "Thank you, Mr. Sheridan, for your honesty. Now let me ask you this: What if your experience in the cemetery was real and had nothing to do
with the alcohol you and friends had consumed? You did see a ghos!. How would you explain that?" " I cou ldn't, and I don't even want to think about it." "Why not?" " I don't know. It gives me the willies. It creeps me out?" "You'll be glad to know you are a typical American, Mr. Sheridan. Approximately eighty-two point three percent of peapie surveyed in the United States basically responded the same way. It ' creeped them out.' It was too scary to think about." " Here are some other statistics you' ll find interesting," said Robert Mach. "While 82.3% of the people fmd the idea of ghosts to be frightening and refuse to believe they are real, 96.4% believe in a supreme being, 91.5% in some kind of an afterlife, 72% in angels or some sort of a guardian spirit whether it be a benevolent ancestor or a Christian-style guardian angel, and 36.7% admit - admit, mind you - to experiencing a ghostly encounter whether it was a visitation of a deceased loved one in a dream, hearing a phantom voice or sound, being sent a sign, or seeing an actual apparition. That's more than one third of the people in the United States willing to admit they, on some level. have had a ghostly encounter. These aren't superstitious people from a third world country, but the USA, bastion of skepticism, technology, science and the internet. By the way, our research shows those numbers go up or down by only about five percent with people in other countries around the globe." Mach paused while the young reporter scribbled down the numbers on his electronic notebook. "So what you're saying," summarized the reporter, "is on one hand, people like claim they don't believe in ghosts, but on the other hand they believe in a god, heaven, an afterlife and angels, all of which fall into the auspicious category of the supernatural." "There may be hope for you yet, Mr. Skeptic. That's exactly what I'm saying. And it 's a worldwide phenomenon. Can every one one of these millions of people be drunk, crazy or mistaken?" "Yeah," countered the reporter in a playful tone, "they can. After all, didn't everyone think the world was flat? And they were all wrong." "Not quite everyone." "Okay, a few guys ... n "Like Victor Lazlo had the insight to see the truth and dare to express their unpopular views though it brought them on ly ridicule and humiliation." "Hey," chuck led Mr. Sheridan, "you're smooth, changing the direction I was going, like that. Damn smooth." Robert Mach just smiled. "I get the point." said Mr. Sheridan. "But where's the rest of the scientific community on this? Why isn't anyone else exploring the supernat ... urn, paranonnal? "A good question, and one that haunted Victor Lazlo and frustrates me to no end." "Well?" "The scientific community hangs its hat on hard facts and results that can be quantified and replicated over and over again. However, even men of science have their prejudices and colored outlook. The paranonnal doesn 't fit convention. It challenges the accepted rules of nature and functions outside our current 21 boundaries of scientific understanding. Magic, other dimensions, demonic beings, ghostly entities - they all seem impossible and defy the laws of science. And since the science we know says they are impossible, they can't possibly exist, and therefore they don 't. End of story. Except it's 1101 the end of the story. The supernatural does exist and may even work within the laws of nature, but in different ways than we currently understand." "That was something else Victor Lazlo tried to make people understand, wasn't it?" " 1 see you did a linle homework after all, Mr. Sheridan, or was that from our website too." "A little of both," he grinned. "Yes, it was." replied the head of the Lazlo Agency. " People seem to have forgotten that much of what we hold as sc ientific truths are theories, good ideas about how things probably work and fit together. These theories are tested, tweaked and modified all the time. Our understanding of DNA is greatly expanded and radically different than it was only 10 years ago. When science finds a new piece of the puzzle, il increases our perspective and modifies or confinns the original theory and concepts. However, rather than following the infonnation to see where it might lead, people, including some scientists, all 100 frequently try to make the information confonn to their pre-existing notions. Dismissing puzzle pieces that don't seem to fit, and in so doing, blinding themselves to the broader truth." "That's kind of harsh, isn't it?" " I don 't think so. Let's face it, Mr. Sheridan, the other reason you don't tell people about your ghostly encounter is because they 'd laugh at you. If science was serious about uncovering the truth there would be a ghost-sighting hotline and a research group, but there isn't. There's no person or organization within the scientific community where you, or anyone, can tum to with your questions about the paranonnaJ. There are no theories. No board of supernatural investigation. No government funded research. Noth ing. When a mass murderer says that a dog told him to kill people, there's no investigation into the possibility that either the dog or the man may have been possessed by an ev il supernatural being. The media labels the killer a madman, the State convicts him, locks him up and throws away the key. In fairness to these social institutions, the knee jerk reaction of most people is to believe the man is insane, and everybody breathes a collective sigh of relief when the madman is locked away. But should they? What if the killer was manipulated, mind controlled or actually possessed by an evil supernatural force?" "Are you saying the Son of Sam was innocent?" gasped the reponer. "That ... that he was, like the victim of supernatural possession?!" "No, I'm not. What I'm trying to say is that we don't even consider the possibility. There is no scientific theory to apply, or science based investigative agency to examine the facts in the case or anything concerning supernatural phenomena. Instead, the crimes and claims are all wrapped together neatly in the blanket of insanity or desperate lies, and ignored accordingly. The scientific community's refusal to even address the possibility makes it impossible for us to believe anything but the killer is crazy. So one madman is imprisoned, we convince ourselves the terror is over, and we sleep better at night. But what if the
real madness is that the man sitting in prison is only one of the real monster's pawns or henchmen? That the true, inhuman per· petrator remains at large, unshackled, invisible and free to work more of its teITOr. There is no police officer hunting for it. There is no one trying to stop it. It is truly free to do as it will. Hiding in plain sight, because science says it is not real, and the media, you, and Joe Average tum a blind eye and fabricate whatever lies are necessary to shield yourselves from the truth." "That's one hell of a conspiracy theory you have going there Mr. Mach. And ' don't mean that as a sman aleck. It gave me chills, but that's some pretty paranoid thinking. If I believed any of it, dude, I couldn't sleep at night. On the other hand, if you wrote that up right, you might give Stephen King a run for his money." "You're doing it again." "What?" "Dismissing a possibility and hiding behind the mantle of insanity and jokes. All I said was 'what if - I didn't say it was true." "Yeah, but that's the kind of stuff you believe, right?" "Victor Lazlo taught me to question and wonder, Mr. Sheridan. To look past scientific and social dogma and ask the scary questions, and seek the real answers. If I can get any part of Victor's message across, it's that nobody is asking the questions. It's all swept under the rug and laughed at." '" get the point, but it's hard to ... " "Keep an open mind." " I wish you'd quit finishing my sentences for me." "Sorry, it's one of my personal foibles." The two men chuckled for a moment, relieving some of the tension that had grown from the serious conversation. "Many of Victor Lazlo's theories actually have a scientific basis," continued Robert Mach. "He believed, for example, that he had discovered an unrecognized form of energy he dubbed Potential Psychic Energy or P.P.E. This energy fuels what you would call ESP - psychic ability. It also fue ls magic and many of the powers possessed by the so-called demons and supernatural monsters." "So-called demons?" "Oh, that's one of my pet peeves. I have often wondered if we might not be taken more seriously if these inhuman beings were labeled as something other than 'demons and monsters.' Hollywood, comic books and society have colored our views about demons and monsters. We're taught as children that they aren't real, then movies and fiction characterize them to the point of ridiculousness. The same is true of ' magic' - the stuff of fairy tales and children's books. But they're real, all right. The problem is, science doesn't recognize the existence of P.P.E., dismisses the paranormal, and ignores all the anecdotal evidence, even though we could fill the Pentagon with millions of examples from just the last thirty years." "If that's true, how can they get away with that?" "Because it's scary and they don't want to uncover the truth." "Come again?" "It's the same reason you refute your own personal experience and why you were making jokes 60 seconds ago. It's scary. Scary and mysterious. You said it yourself, if you thought any 22 of my paranoid ranting was true, you couldn't sleep at night. And everyone wants to sleep easy, Mr. Sheridan. You saw the paranoia after 9-11. People in small town America were buying duct tape and bottled water by the truckload, as if they could be the next target. We don't want our children to worry about the bogeyman or demons. We have enough to wony about. Besides, mom, pop, science and Uncle Sam all insist monsters and magic aren't real. And with a little luck, none of us will ever have to come face to face with one. Oh, your scary moment in a cemetery is one thing, a fu ll-fledged encounter with the face of evil, that's quite another. Funny thing though, and you'll probably call me paranoid again, but we at the Lazlo Agency suspect mil· lions of people have terrifying and deadly encounters with the supernatural every day. Where have the millions of missing people gone, Mr. Sheridan? They can't all be lying face down in a shallow grave somewhere. Why can't we fmd the thousands of children whose faces haunt us from the sides of milk cartons and posters at Wal-Mart? What about the invisible people we barely notice? The homeless, the illegal aliens, and prostitutes that go missing or are found dead. You're a reporter, do you pay attention when a hooker, junky or street person is reported on a p0- lice blotter as dead?" ''No, or ifI do, they're forgotten ten seconds later. I only take notice if there was something unusual, I mean really unusual or a celebrity or politician is linked to the deceased." "Exactly, and every major city has hundreds and hundreds of these people die every year, and hundreds more disappear. And I don't mean gone missing due to foul play, I mean thousands of indigent people, junkies, hookers, and mentally ill roam the streets and come and go without hardly anyone noticing them in the first place. When one drifter is sudden ly gone, it's assumed they must have gone someplace else, to greener pastures, home, rehab or j ail, most likely, but we don't actually know where they've gone at all." "And don't care. Those are the kind of people we like to keep our distance from." Added the reporter. "And nobody's going to believe a wino or a whore j unked up on heroin or crack if they even have the stones to try to tell the cops they saw a monster or something weird. Burnouts and losers just don't have much credibility. You expect them to be seeing glowing lights, monsters and Elvis in an alley. There's not a reporter in TV or print who's going to waste their time on those peop le, unless they smell a real story. Something big." "Mr. Sheridan, you surprise me." "I'm not stupid. I get the point, and it makes sense." The reporter stopped writing and switched off his notebook. "You know I can't write any of th is for the paper. At least not without making you and anyone involved with the Lazlo Agency look like whack jobs." '" know." "This sucks. I hear what you're saying. I mean, okay, it sounds crazy, but sitting here talking with you, seeing your demeanor ... I know you believe and make it sound more than plausible. I believe you, and that scares the spit out of me more than anything." "Thank you, Mr. Sheridan." "For what?" "For not labeling me a 'whack job. '"
"Yeah, well, it's not like I'm doing you any favors, dude. And I am going to have trouble sleeping tonight. thank you very much." "It will pass. You' ll either decide I'm one of the best con art~ ists you've cver met and that I'm full of it, or you' ll just push it out of your mind. Focus on other more immediate and person~ ally important things. It's easy. Most people do it." There was a moment of silence before either of them spoke. "Yeah, maybe, but I don't think so. You' ve given me a lot to think about." "You know, if you need or want to talk . .. off the record ... I'm here. I didn't mean to upset you. This is intense food for thought Most people can't handle it." "Thanks. I appreciate that. Maybe I will." "I mean it. Anytime, day or night. Here, let me give you my card. It has my private cell phone and e~mail address." "That's cool." "Okay dude," teased Robert Mach, " like if you need to talk, or like, see another ghost, ring me bro." The young reporter smiled, but his mind was clearly elsewhere. "Count on it. You've given me a lot to mull over. Maybe it's because I'm a reporter, but I've seen what you've said a hundred times. People don 't listen to street people. They don't even want to get near 'em. And when the homeless and drifters move on, nobody knows where they 've been, where they've gone, and don't care. When a hooker or junkie or poor slob buys it, their passing doesn't make the news unless a gunfight was involved, and sometimes nOI even then. Do you have any idea how many people get killed, hurt or go missing in a city like Detroit or Chicago thai never make the evening news or grab a newspaper's headline?" "Yes, 1 do." "Hey look, I hear and see a lot of stuff, you know. If I come across something . . . you know, like .. "Weird." The reporter gave him a look. "Sorry," said Mach, "personal foible." "Yeah, well it's annoying. Work on it, dude." "What about your story?" "Hey, I've got plenty of material." "Oh?" "Don't worry, I'll make it a fluff piece. That's what my editor wants anyway. I' ll talk about the web site and how you guys network to gather weird stories about, you know, the paranonnal and monsters, and speculate on their, urn ... uh ... " "Validity and relevance?" "Yeah, validity and relevance." "You 're okay. Sheridan. You'd better be careful though, or you might find yourself . . . " "A nut job like you?" "Something like that" •••••••••• 23 The following is one of the new Psychic Character Classes (P.C.C.) from Beyond the SupernaturaI 2T.\1. I hope it conveys some of the atmosphere and uniqueness of BTS~ , which should ship to stores by the end of April. Really. Psychic Medium P.C.C. By Kev in Siembieda Q 2004 The Psychic Medium is a different kind of sensitive psych ic character. He or she sees ghosts and gets impressions from the dead. The character is psychically linked to one otherworldly spirit who provides him with a range of paranonnal abilities as well as psychic insight and infonnation. This ghost is known as the medium's "Spirit Guide," and is supposedly a friendly spirit from the past. The "ghost" may be a deceased loved one, friend or family member or someone completely unrelated and previously unknown 10 the psychic. Ghosts who were once a friend or family member are ancestral spirits who guard over and help their loved one even though they have passed on into the afterlife . However, such friends and family members are never an inune-
diate relative such as a parent or sibling, but someone a bit removed like a cousin, uncle, great grandfather, or even a great, great, great grandfather. In fact, frequently the Spirit Guide is two to several generations removed. It is the bond of kinship and love that brings them to the psychic and binds them together, though he or she must also possess the special "gift" to see and hear spirits to complete the unity. The Unrelated Spirit Guide will always be a person from a particular occupation, place or time period with which the psychic has always been fascinated. For it is that similar interest that serves as the link that binds them; kindred spirits who cross the boundary of death. The unrelated ghost may have died recently or herald back 10 a time hundreds, even thousands of years ago. It can originate from anywhere on the planet, including foreign countries and places such as Atlantis and Lemuria that have never been proven to actually have ex isted at all. In all cases, regardless of the Spirit Guide 's origin or age, the Spirit is benevolent and friendly. It has come to help the psychic and represents the character's focus and conduit to the past and the dead. It is the Spirit Guide who provides the psychi c with his powers. Parapsychologists insist the Spirit Guide is the subconscious or psychic manifestation of the Medium's own mind, perhaps his inner child or subconscious id. It is through the manifestation of this alter-ego (a tangible focus of his own thoughts) that the Medium is able to tap into the realm of the supernatural. Psych ic Mediums insist their Guide is the spirit of a dead person, someone who was once a living. breathing individual who has returned from beyond the ve il to help the living. As further proof of the ghostly presence, they point out that Psychic Mediums can also see or sense Ihe presence of Spirit Guides of other Mediums, though they can't speak to them. Supposedly, this is because each Spirit Guide is linked to one specific individual, and is unable to communicate directly with any other living person. The ghost serves as the Psychic Medium's direct link to the other side, and the Medium serves as the ghost's direct link to the world of the living. However, this argument is countered by those who contend the Spirit Guide is visible to other Mediums because. a) spirits are also their orientation and frame of reference, and, b) because the Spirit Guide is a real psychic man ifestation, j ust one subconsciously created by the Medium himself. While the debate rages among Mediums and other psychics and scholars as to whether the Spirit Gu ide is a genuine ghost or a figment of the psychic's own imagination, the bottom line is this: if there was no Spirit Guide the Psychic Medium would be powerless. blinded to the realm of the supernatural and unable to use his special abilities. Thus, real or imagined. the two are irrevocably dependent on each other. Without one, the other van ishes. This spectral link to Ihe past helps the living character in the present by providing the Psychic Medium with the Spirit Guide's experience, observations and wisdom. The "ghost" is in effect, a second pair of eyes with its own un ique historical background and perspective. In addition, the Spirit Guide serves as a condu it to the past, to the supernatural, and beyond. As the theory goes, the Spirit Guide can tap into the psychic vibrations and impressions left on a particular location in much the same way as a Haunting Entity. It then verbally relates what it senses, sees, knows, or suspects, providing snippets of insight, informa24 tion and advice. In addition, the Spirit Guide can serve as a conduit to the past and to the supernatural by conveyi ng sights (visions and dreams), sounds, or smells to its living partner in order to warn him of danger. provide clues or help in other ways. p.e.c. Abilities & Bonuses 1. Hear Death Rattle: The Psychic Medium can hear the death raute of the dying: the last dying breaths of those seriously sick or injured. Thus, the character starts hearing the death rattle one minute before the individual expires, so he knows the person is about to die, and knows that when the sound stops, the person is dead. Only exceptional means (immediate medical intervention, heart massage, CPR, etc.) may bring a character from their deathbed back to the living, depending on the injury, available medical help and circumstance. I.S.P. Cost: None. Automatic, hears the Death Rattle whether the Medium wants to or not, provided the character is with in range; 50 feet (15.2 m). 2. Permanent P.P.E. Base: P.E. attribute number +104. 3. I.S.P.: M.E. attribute number x2 +8 I.S.P. per level of experience. Considered a Major Psychic and needs to roll a 12 or higher to save vs psionic attack. 4. Imperv ious to Possession. The Psychic Medium is impendous to all forms of possession, whether it is magical, psionic or supernatural. However, he remains vulnerable to hypnosis and other fonns of mind control and illusion. 5. P.C.C. Bonuses: +104 to M.E. attribute, +1 on initiative, +1 to dodge, +2 to save vs illusion, +2 to Perception rolls, and +1 to save vs Horror Factor at levels 2, 5, 8, 12 and 15. Penalty Note: Psychic Mediums fee l less confident when their Spirit Gu ide is missing in action and suffer a penalty of -10% to all skill performance and -Ion all saving throws until it reappears. 6. Spirit Strike: The Psychic Medium not only sees ghosts and invisible spirits and energy beings, but can attack them as well. Damage is done directly to the creature's Hit Points and affects even invisible energy beings and ethereal spirits. To attack, the psychic must will his inner strength to produce a damaging energy that can touch entities and spirits. This counts as one of his melee attacks for the first round. Then by touch, punch, kick, or attack with any type of handheld melee weapon (club. knife, sword, chair, etc.) he can hit the energy being or specter to inflict damage. The energy of the Spirit Strike can also be released as an energy blast, but such a ranged attack does half damage and is limited to a range of 20 feet (6. 1 m) +5 feet (1.5 m) per level of experience. Damage (Touch): 206 po ints +1 per level of experience (half as an energy blast). The Spirit Strike can also be used against demons and other supernatural beings (evil or good), but infli cts only I D6 damage to them. Any supernatural being with the word "spirit," "ghost" or "specter" as part of its name takes fu ll damage, as does the splintered essence or avatar of an Alien Intelligence. (Note: In a Mega-Damage environment like Rifis®. damage is 406 M.D. + I M.D. per level of experience to spirits, Entities, and fragmented essences, and 2D6 M.D. as an energy blast or when the Spirit Strike is used on demons and other supernatural beings.)
Duration: One melee round per level of experience. Note: This ability only manifests when the character is facing Entities, ghosts/spirits, or other supernatural beings, and only Psychic Mediums, those who can see the invisible and the creatures he is fighting can see the energy crackling around his fists or energy blasts. The Spirit Strike touch! punch or blast does NO damage to mortals or creatures of magic. I.S.P. Cost: 10 points to call for this defense against the supernatural for the duration noted above. 7. Psychic Abilities: The Psychic Medium's abilities have to do with the dead, the past and the Spirit Guide, and are all described under this P.C.c. The character does not get any additional psychic powers or abilities. As is so often the case, the powers of this Psychic Character Class (P.C.C.) are very specific and unique unto itself. 8. Educationa l Background of the Psychic. Select or roll for a random educational level and range of skills. Gets one bonus Lore or Ancien! W.P. skill of choice. Note: Also see Creating the Spirit Guide and Paranormal Abilities of the Psychic Medium via the Spirit Guide. Creating the Spirit Guide To make it quick and easy for players to roll up their character's Spirit Guide, we provide the following tables. For random determination roll percentile dice, otherwise pick one or make your own unique ghostly companion. Number of Spirit Guides: One. Availability of the Spirit Guide: The Spirit Guide is usually present and accounted for 80% of the time, and seen standing at the Psychic Medium's side or nearby. The Guide shares a similar alignment and outlook to the living character, and both work toward the same goals. However, the ghost is sometimes unable to offer help or provide advice because it doesn't know what to say or lacks a proper skill or frame of reference. It may also refuse to speak or help when it is angry with the Psychic Medium, at which point it seems to disappear and cannot be seen by the psychic or other Mediums. There are also times when the Spirit Guide vanishes for a period of time and just isn't available. Where it goes is unknown. Perhaps into a sort of limbo holding area, but when it is gone, it seems to leave the physical plane entirely and does not know what's happening to the Psychic Medium or the world around him. (The Spirit never says where it has been or what it was doing, only that it could not be at the psychic's side for a time. End of story.) Similarly, there are times when the ghost will inform its partner that it cannot accompany the character into a particular environment, place or setting, or that it is being held at bay, kept away, or banished, by magic or supernatural power, forcing the Psychic Medium 10 proceed on his own, the Spirit Guide reappearing al his side when he exits the area protected from spirits. However, in all ins[aOces where the Spirit Gu ide is not talking or is otherwise unavailable, the Psychic Medium's paranormal abilities remain intact and operational. Note: Psychic Mediums feel less confident when their Spirit Guide is missing in action, and suffer a penalty of -10% to all skill performance and -Ion all saving throws. 25 Link to the Psychic Medium: The Spirit Guide is emotionally and physically linked to the human to whom it is attached. That living individual is the ghost's connection to our physical world. Ifhe or she dies, the Spirit Guide van ishes. Fundamentally a guardian spirit, the ghost seldom leaves the side of its living partner, except as noted above. Thus, the Spirit Guide is always present, usually standing behind or to the side of the Psychic Medium, or very nearby (within six feet/I.8 m) and always within line of sight, observing what the Medium is doing, looking at or experiencing. Wherever the Psychic Medium goes, the Spirit Guide follows right on his heels. Whatever the Medium experiences, the Spirit Guides bears witness. Friend and Mentorf"Guide." The Spirit Guide, regardless of ils alignment or the alignment of the living person to whom it is linked, is completely loyal to its Psychic Medium. While it will not lie or do anything contrary to its alignment, the ghost is a spiritual "guide" and "mentor," as well as being the conduit through which the psychic draws his paranormal abilities. Consequently, a Spirit Guide does NOT scout ahead, peak around comers, sneak under doors to see what waits on the other side, or spy on others. Nor does it provide answers or lead the human character by the hand. Instead, it nudges, encourages and guides the character along life's paths so he grows as a person. Remember, the Spirit Guide has no direct influence on the physical world, and only its living partner can hear it. Innuence Over the Physical World: None, except through the influence the Spirit Guide has on the Psychic Medium and the paranormal abilities it provides him via their link. Alignment: The same as, or similar to, the Psychic Medium. If different, the Spirit Guide's alignment will be better than its monal companion. The Spirit Guide and the player character should have many things in common if not be out and out kindred souls and like-minded beings. Hit Points: There are creatures, magic and psychic attacks (the Spirit Strike being one of them) that can hit and hun entities and spirits. Thus, for the purpose of combat, the Spirit Guide has half as many Hit Points (no S.D. C.) as the Psychic Medium to whom it is linked. Most vanish when they lose half their Hit Points, returning when the enemy is gone or has been otherwise subdued. If the ghost loses all of its Hit Points, it vanishes for 24 hours. In this case, the Psychic Medium retains all of his paranormal powers, but suffers the penalties for being without his spiritual counselor (-10% to all skill performance and -Ion all saving throws). Note: Spirit Guides are seldom targets ofanacks because they don't represent a threat to beings in the physical world, thus they are usually ignored by other spiritis, supernatural beings and practitioners of magic. P.P.E.: 2D6 points. J.S.P.: None. Gend er: 01-50% Male, 51-00% Female. Kinship to the Psychic: 01-50% Ancestor/family member. 51-00% No blood ties; an unrelated stranger. Age (I.e., when the ghost died): Roll percentile or pick one. ~20% Child: 206+5 years old (reduce skill knowledge by one for each set of skills available to it).
21-40% Young Adult: 206+17 years old. 41-60% Adult: 306+32 years old (gets one additional skill of choice from those available). 61-80% Elderly: 406+50 years old (gets two additional skills of choice from those available). 81-00% Ancient: 406+76 years old (gets one additional Skill Program). Cause of Death: Whatever the cause, the Spirit Guide has come to terms with and does not suffer any lingering trauma or reo sentment about it. What's done is done. Roll percentile or pick one. 01-20% Natural causes, peaceful. 2 1-40% Accident. 41-70% Disease/illness. 71-85% War or violence. 86-00% Murder (deliberately killed) or unjust persecution (died as a result of unjust imprisonment,torture, or execu· tion). Nationality: The choices are so many, and the ghost is so per· sonally linked to the living, that we leave this choice to the player. Time Line: How recemly the Spirit Guide walked among the living. 01-30% Modem: Died only 506 years ago, within a generalion or IWO (a generation is typically considered to be 20 years). 31-60% Tum of the century: Died 1 D6x 10+40 years ago. 61-90% Olden days: Died I D6xl00 years ago. 91-00% Long ago in ancient times: Died ID4xl000 years ago. Personality Traits: 01-10% Paternal, kind and caring. 11-20% Mentor/teacher type, but patient and kind. 21-30% Mentor/teacher type, but impatient and stem. NOI bossy or mean, but there may be times when the Spirit Guide voices its frustration or disapproval. 31-40% Quiet and shy, but not afraid to speak his or her mind. 4 t -50% Positive and jovial; the glass is always !rolf full. 51 -60% Pragmatic and reserved, stoic even; the glass is often !rolf empty. 61-70% Inquisitive and caring; likes a challenge, puzzles and new ideas and experiences. Encourages the same in its liv· ing partner. 71-80% A generous and kind people person (er, ghost) who likes to help others. Believes people (not things or per· sonal reputation or reward) come first. Very empathic to the plight of his or her living partner and other people. 81 -90% Artistic and sensitive. Enjoys life, creativity and beauty. Hates and saddened by death, cruelty and ugli· ness. 91-00% Science and fact minded. Likes 10 see the proof/evidence and details. Doesn't trust strangers or practitioners of magic, but trusts his or her living parmer completely (and vice versa). 26 Skills Based on the Background, Trade or Education of the Gbost: The Spirit Guide's range of knowledge is limited to its past life, and may be of little help in certain situations and of great help in others. That having been said, most Spirit Guides were once psychics, shamans, priests, scholars/thinkers or people with special gifts or insight about the world and/or the supernatural. While they have no psychic powers available to them as ghosts, they have their own range of skills. beliefs and thoughts. Roll percentile or pick one. 01-10% Artist: Was an anist of some kind, from painter or sculptor to musician, poet, writer, phOlographer, etc. Skills: Basic Math, 104+1 Domestic skills (+3 additional musical skills if a musician), plus 106+2 Technical skills, and speaks 104 Languages. +20% to all art related skills and + 1 0% on all others. 11-20% WorklLabor: Some fonn of manual labor from farming to digging ditches, to hefting boxes, to delivering the mail, to operating machines or standing on one's feet as a guard or fry cook., and similar laborious ways to eam a living. Low ski11 level. Skills: Basic Math, t 04 Physical skills, 104+1 Domestic skills, 104+1 Technical skills, one Trans· portation skill and one Language. +20% to work related skills and + 10% on all others. 21-35% Magician: Studied or practiced the mystic arts. Skills: Has an in-depth understanding of the principles of magic and ley lines, knows 104+3 Lore skills (+20%), 106+2 other Technical skills (+ 10%), speaks 104+ 1 Languages (+20%), reads ID4 Languages (+10%) and knows Basic and Advanced Math. 36-50% Shaman: Has a basic understanding of magic, knows 104+1 Lore skills (+ 15%), 104+2 Wilderness skills (+10%), 104+1 Domestic skills (+ 10%), speaks 104 Lan· guages (+20%), First Aid (+10%), Holistic Medicine (+20%), and Basic Math. 51-65% Learned/Scholar: May include such backgrounds as student, teacher, professor, reporter, researcher, actuary, historian, archivist, aristocrat, priest, monk, world traveler, and avid reader. Skills: Two science skills of choice (+10%), ID4 Communication skills (+10%; excluding Lan· guage), 104 Domestic Q! Paranormal skills (+5%), 106+2 Technical skills of choice (+15%), speaks 104+2 Languages (+15%). reads 104 Languages (+10%), one Transport skill and Basic Math (+4%). 66-75% Social Engineer: Observed and studied people and could be a psychologist, anthropologist, nurse, priest, or humanitarian. Gels Anthropology, History, Mythology, 104 Lore skills of choice, all at +20%, plus 106 Technical or Communication skills of choice (+10%), 104 Domestic skills (+5%), speaks 104 Languages (+10%). reads \04 Lan· guages (+5%), one Transportation skill and Basic Math. 76-90% OccultisVSupernaturalist: Was a Parapsychologist, Psychic Medium. Psychic Sensitive/fortune teller, Diviner, priest, wise man, demon slayer or other profession that dealt with studying and dealing with the supernatural. Skills: Has a basic understanding of magic, knows 104+3 Lore skills of choice (+15%), Anthropology or Psychology (+10%), Astrology or Archaeology (+10%), ID4 Espionage skills (+5%) or Weapon Proficiencies, 104 Wilderness or Transportation skills (+5%), 104 Technical skills (+5%),
speaks two Languages (+10%), reads one (+15%), and Basic Math. 91-00% Military: Was a professional soldier, mercenary, police officer, or other type of protector or lawman. Skills: Gets Recognize Weapon Quality, Military Etiquette and Law (general), each with a +15% bonus, ID4 Military or Rogue skills (+10%), three W.P. skills, ID4 Physical skills, 104 Domestic skills, two Transportation or Communication skills (+5%), speaks two Languages (+ 10%), reads one (+15%), and Basic Math. Paranormal Abilities of the Psychic Medium via the Spirit Guide Communicate with Spirit Guide The Spirit Guide can only communicate with its chosen living partner. We use the term "partner" because man and spirit work in concert toward the same goals and most Mediums consider their Guide to be a trusted friend constantly at their side. The Spirit Guide is a near constant companion who stays at the side of Ihe Psychic Medium. Whatever the character sees, hears and experiences, the Spirit Guide is an invisible and silent wimess. The "ghost" is present to help, but not lead, so it is a silent partner using itself as a conduit from which the psychic gets his many other abilities. As a "guide" the spirit is presenllo help the Psychic Medium develop and use his psych ic powers of mediumship, but of greater importance, to find his life path and !O help others. Note: 45% of all Psychic Mediums are Principled and 40% Scrupulous, and most are driven to help the living and dead. Dreams: Spirit Guides primarily speak in dreams in which they usually appear in a friendly setting to talk and exchange ideas, discuss problems or puzzles, and offer advice. Again, even in a dream where the spirit appears as alive as the character himself, the Spirit Guide plays the role of mentor and encourager. Rather than point out specific things or lell the character what to do, it asks questions like, "What do you think," "Why would she do that," etc., or says things like, "That doesn't make sense to me, .... That seems likely," or offers advice like, "You're thinking with your hean not your head," or "You're not seeing the forest for the trees," or "Maybe you should go back to the scene of the crime," or "review the evidence, I think you're missing something," and sometimes offering its own ideas, "What if ... " - but even then leaving the character to draw his own conclusions. The Spirit Guide may also take the role of the character's conscience or parent figure , "How could you say that, you owe so and so an apology," or "that's not like you, what are you thinking," or "you can do that, but you know it's wrong." If challenged ("Yeah, well what am I supposed to do, huh? I'm in a tight spot!"), the spirit is likely to say something like, "I don't know, Jason, but not this. You know you'll regret it (or it will hurt others)," and so on. Advice might be something like, "There has to be another way. Can't you talk to so and so?" or "What about ... " Phantom Voice While Sleeping: The Spirit Guide can call its living partner's name or shout a word or two ("Wake up," "Get ou!," "Fire," "Danger," "Demon," "Ghost," "The phone," 27 and similar) to wake the Psychic Medium up or to warn him of danger or alert him to something while he sleeps or dozes. Only the Psychic Medium hears the call. Random Thought: The Spirit Guide sometime pipes in with a random thought, "Yes, that's it," "No, that can't be right," "Slow down," "Be careful," "What about the book," "Think about what you 're saying." "Stop it." "Don't do it." and so forth. On ly the Psychic Medium hears the words. One on One Discussion: The Psychic Medium can mentally (or verbally) converse with his Spirit Guide at an I.S.P. cost of 10 points for a maximum of two minutes. When this is done, the psychic can speak to his Spirit Guide as if there were another, living person standing next to him. Others don't see or hear a thing, only the Psychic Medium can hear his ghostly panner. Channeling infonnation is done only to get advice, instructions ("If you know how to open this device, I need you to tell me now.") or information ("What do you know about this place," or person or monster, or magic, etc.). The Spirit Guide's range of knowledge, however, is limited to its past [ife and mayor may not be of much help depending on the situation. That having been said, most Spirit Guides were once psych ics, shamans, priests, scholars or people with special gifts and insight about the world of the supernatural themselves. While they have no psychic powers available to them as ghosts, they do know things and have their own range of skills. !'S.P. Cost: 10 points for a maximum of two minutes. Only the Psychic Medium can hear his Spirit Guide. See & Communicate with Other Spirits The Psychic Medium's link to the other side via his Spirit Guide enables the character to sense the presence of other Spirit Guides, ghosts and Entities. He can even see Entities when they are in their invisible energy form. This ability is aUlomatic and does not require any special focus or concentration. If a pair of Poltergeists are playing in the room, he'll sense them from outside and see them the moment he enters the room. Likewise, if a Haunting Entity (a son of ghost) walks past the door, the Medium will see it in whatever manifestation the Entity has currently taken for itself. I.S.P. Cost: None, automatic. Sensing Range: 600 foot (183 m) radius. Visual Range: Line of sight. Limits of Communication: As a " Medium" the psychic can also speak to Entities (all) and other ghost-like beings, all of whom see him as a kindred spirit. Poltergeists will listen to the Psychic Medium and can usually be calmed down and momentarily made to behave or sent away to another part of the house or area. Haunting Entities are the most cooperative, telling him everything they know, though their information will be interlaced with their own tragic history, woes, fears and desires (which may enable the Psychic Medium to help them and free the Entities from their bondage on Earth). Extremely overwrought, hale-filled and evil Haunting Entities/ghosts will speak to the psychic character but may refuse to help or only offer a tiny bit of helpful information. They may also threaten to cause other
problems or hang around to taunt and jeer the Psychic Medium or frighten those around him. However, these ghostly beings know the Medium can see them and could take action against them, so most leave matters as threats they never intend to do. Note: They usually leave when ignored and usually back down when challenged or threatened by an angry Psychic Medium (and his Spirit Guide at his side). Syphons, Tectonic and Possessing Entities will stop, listen and consider what a Psychic Medium has to say, but are not compelled to obey or do anything asked of them. Because of this, any "help" one of these Entities may offer must be viewed with suspicion, and is likely to be a lie or a trick to confuse and annoy the psychic or his comrades. Note: The Psychic Medium can only see a Possessing Entity when it is in control of the host body. It is invisible to him when it lets the host have control of the body. Other Spirits may also stop, lislen and consider what a Psychic Medium has to say, but remain free to do as they will. Spirit Channeling/Seance This ability is often mistaken for possession, but It IS not done against the psychic's will and never lasts for more than a few minutes. To channel, the psychic opens himself to become a living conduit to spirits and supernarural energy beings who temporarily enter and take over the Medium's body. This is done for the express purpose of communication. Once the spirit is inside the Psychic Medium, it can use his body to communicate with other people. In this state, the spirit can hear, speak and write, but little more. Though the Medium under the influence of a channeled spirit may wave his hands and flail about, shout and even stand up or point, that is the limit of physical control by the spiriUentity/energy being inside of him. Any type of Entity, energy or spirit/ghost-like being can be allowed inside the Psychic Medium to communicate, but the supernatural being must be nearby and wish to communicate or nothing happens. Acrually, some other spirit may choose to enter the Medium and speak. The spirit is not compelled to be honest or helpful. Good or needy spirits (the latter are those seeking help from the living, the fonner to help the living) may answer questions truthfully and try to help as much as possible. Evil and selfish spirits may issue threats, twist the truth, lie, and mislead. I.S.P. Cost: 12 Questions: Spirits are unused to being heard by the living and are not used to speaking. Thus, they are not usually proactive and for the best results, should be asked specific questions by one person at a time. If people all talk at once, the ghost be28 comes confused, frustrated and angry, causing it to leave early. Likewise, even a rude or nasty spirit should not be insulted or it is likely to vacate the Medium before it has provided the information it may know. Note: Just because contact is made with a spirit, even the specific spirit desired, it doesn't mean the spirit has the information the player characters seek. Likewise, if a spirit doesn't understand a question or if the right question(s) isn't asked, it may not offer everything it knows and may fail to provide the infonnation the characters seek, even when it knows the answers. Remember, spirits are not used to communicating with the living and need to be prodded and invited 10 speak about what they know. The Channeling Process: The psychic needs to relax and open his mind to the spirit world. This is done by entering a light meditative trance (takes ID6+4 melee rounds). Once the mind is opened, the Medium hums, speaks softly the name or basic identity of the spirit with whom contact is desired (i.e., "Fred Bishop," or "the spirit of the sad little girl," etc.) and waits (1D6 minutes). Meanwhile, the other participants should also concentrate on making contact with the ghost. The more positive and unified the group is, the better the chances of contact. This mental process sends a beacon through the Spirit Guide and into the realm of the supernatural. With any luck, the spirit desired will hear the request as if someone were calling his or her name. However, other spirits in the area also hear the call, and though they are not the one being sought, may rush forward and lake that spirit's place, especially if it takes more than one or two minutes for the desired spirit to respond. Duration of Contact: I D4+ I minutes before the entity/spirit pulls back its energy. Success Ratio: For best results the Psychic Medium shou ld channel when he knows one or more spirits are nearby: 01-50% +3% per level of experience, +20% if the spirit desires to communicate. Penalties: -20% if the spirit is reluctant or unwilling, -5% for each participant who does not want to make contact (possibly out of fear, possibly as a disbeliever or a plain, old disruptive jerk), -1 5% for each Nega-Psychic in the group or NegaPsychic within range of influence. Requirements & Restrictions: There must be at least one other person present to ask the questions. The Psyehic Medium is the conduit for the spirit and not only is he unable to ask questions, but the entire experience is a blank slate. The Medium doesn't remember anything while he was in the trance and controlled by the spirit. This is why Psychic Mediums like to audio record and/or videotape communication sessions. It is best if one person asks all the questions even if the spirit singles out one or more of the other participants (evil ones do so to provoke connict or to distract from the real issue). If others speak, it should be one at a time. The Psychic Medium can only perform Psychic Channeling once for each level of experience within a 24 hour time period, and needs a short, five or six minute break between each experience to rest and recover his energy. Negative Effect on the Psychic Medium: Channeling takes considerable focus and energy. After a successful spirit channeling, the character feels tired and weak. Reduce P.S., P.E., and Spd attributes as well as all combat bonuses and the number of attacks by 50% for 1D4 minutes (+104 minutes additional if
forced to take action withom an opportunil}' to rest). Restored to normal once that time (of rest) elapses. Auditory Trance Emotions, experiences, and trauma leave an invisible, psychic impression on physical places like an afterimage or a sort of psychic scar or imprint. Certain supernatural beings, like the Haunting Entity. can sense these impressions in a profound way, and are even attracted to them like flies to honey. Like a Haunting Entity, the Psychic Medium can also pick up linle snippets of information from the past by entering into an Audilory Trance. This requires a conscious effort and some sort of specific focus, such as tryi ng to discover what happened when so and so was attacked or murdered. A specific person, event or time must be the focus of the trance. The more recent the event/incident/time period. the better the result. Success ratio based on the passage of time. Roll percentile dice. A roll under the number listed indicates success. A roll above that number means failure - no sound bite or impression whatsoever. Within 48 hours: 98% likelihood of success. Within one week: 90% likelihood of success. Within two weeks: 85% likelihood of success. Within fo ur weeks: 80% likelihood of success. Within three months: 70% chance of success. With in six months: 60% chance of success. Within one year: 50% chance of success. Within two years: 40% chance of success. Within five years: 30% chance of success. Within ten years: 20% chance of success. Within 20 years: 10% chance of success. Within 50 years: 5% chance of success. Within 100 years: 3% chance of success. Beyond 100 years: I % chance of success. I.S.P. Cost: The Psychic Medium must also expend 20 I.S.P. points. The Trance: What an Auditory Trance does is put the Psych ic Medium in tune with the psychic vibrations of the room or small area he is trying to "read." The entire experience takes ID4 melee rounds (15-60 seconds), though it usually seems more like 2-5 minutes to the psychic. The trance momentarily shuts out the rest of the world, allowing the Psych ic Medium to hear a cacophony of sound rushing past him as if someone were fast forwarding an audio tape. Most of the sounds are mumed, pushed into the background and are mostly indistinguishable. The Psychic Medium might be able to recognize laughter, voices speaking, the sounds of a party, a television in the backgroWld, a dog barking, birds chirping, a thunderstorm, and similar sounds, but cannot actually hear the words being spoken, Wltil one particular sound stands out like a cannon blast. This identifiable sound could be a gunshot, crying, glass breaking, or a scream to an actual word or series of words. Whatever the sound is, he knows it is always important and a clue to what happened, who died, who committed the evil act, 29 where it happened, where the victim or perpetrator might currently be located, and similar. A single word might be a name. "Carolyn," ··Kent," "Williamson," etc., and may identify the (unknown) victim or the (unknown) perpetrator, or a (unknown) witness. The word or name will always provide information that is not yet known, or fi lls in a missing piece of the puzzle or serves as a new clue. Consequently, it will not be the name ofa known victim, though it may be the name of a known suspect or a known associate/family memberlfriend, or an unknown perpetrator. A single world might also ind ica te a place: "upstairs," "outside," "Mike's," "Chicago," etc. Again, it wi ll be an important clue that has immediate recognition and importance (this is often the case), or which will have significance later. when more clues are uncovered. A phrase may ind icate a person, place or thing, but may also provide a time, or motive, or similar detail. "Frank, it's 1: 15, we have to go," or "open the safe," "where is it hidden," "give me the book (or wallet, or photographs, or bracelet, or artifact, etc.), "don't make me hurt you," "you shou ldn't have threatened Tony," "you shouldn't have double-crossed the Consortium," "can't trust you," "never liked you, Chrissy," "can't risk you going to the police." "do it, Zachary," and so forth. It might also indicate an accident, "be careful," "watch OUI," "oh, no." and so on. Background secondary sound. During an auditory trance, the psychic will also hear and remember any significant background noise. Perhaps one or morc voices in the background or crying, or the crash of a vase or a porcelain statue, indicating someone else was present at the time. A witness? An accomplice? Who? Speaking of time. the sound might be a chiming clock or church bells or the nightly news coming on the TV, or the (timed) sprinklers going off, all of which would indicate a specific moment in time. A merry-go-round. engine sound (delivery truck, perhaps), rainstorm, sound of a party, traffic, the clatter and clanging at a train crossing, honking geese, barking dogs and other animal noises, music and distinct sounds might also ind icate a specific (or likely range of) location(s) and/or time. Chanting, a specific verse or language, background music, etc., might, likewise, indicate a ritual or ceremony. If someone was murdered, even quiet sounds like the knife being stabbed through clothes and fl esh (perhaps once, perhaps repeated ly), a clunk on the head by a heavy object, a body hilting the ground, or the gurgling or gasping of air from strangulation will be heard distinctly. Actually, this may be a primary or secondary sound depending on the sign ificance of the clue/information and the situation. Recognition. First, the Psychic Medium knows the sound, word or phrase always has sign ificance and is a vita! clue - the next place to look, the location where the crime really took place, whether the victim knew his/her attacker, perhaps even the name of the killer ("please Thomas, don't do this ... "). Second, a word or phrase will always be heard in the voice of the person who spoke it (Le., the victim, the perpetrator, an accomplice. a witness, etc.). This means the Medium will know if it came from a male, female, or child. Third, the psychic remembers the sound and the words clearly and correctly, so a phrase will not be forgotten or jumbled, and the psychic may recognize the voice (or sOWld) the
moment he hears it in the trance, or if it is someone he knows or has recently met or heard in the last 48. Fourth, the psychic is likely (0 1-68% chance) to recognize the specific voice (or sound) if he hears it again within the next 72 hours; +20% if the voice speaks the exact same wordes) or a very similar phrase, and +10% if it is a threat directed at the Psychic Medium or one of his comrades. All bonuses are cumulative. The character must hear the words himself to recognize them. I.S.P. Cost: 8 points per each Auditory Trance. Limitations: In addition to the passage of time, there are other limitations and restrictions as follows. 1) The Psychic Medium can only try to get an auditory reading once or twice. An Auditory Trance either works or it doesn't. The psychic cannot repeatedly try again and again until he gelS something. If he fails, however, he can try again 24 hours after his first failed attempt, but does so at a -20% penalty to be successful. Nor can the character do several readings to get multiple clues and infonnation. Once the trance is successful, that's it. A different Psychic Medium can try his luck, but if he too is focused on the same person, same event or same time-line, he is likely to get the same sound bite/clue. (Note: Game Master'S discretion as to whether or not the second Psychic Medium gets a new clue or the same one.) Of course, other classes of psychics can use their differem senses and abilities to get additional clues and insight. 2) An Auditory Trance is a method of channeling the psychic vibrations of one specific room, or some contained immediate area such as the from or back porch, wine cellar, basement, crawl space, patio, backyard, trailer, the south end of a parking lot or construction site, a specific street comer, the scene ofthe crime, an automobile (must be inside it), etc. This means, hoWever, that a Psychic Medium may be able to follow an invisible trail, at least for a short while, by following the clues or his gut instincts and perfonning an Auditory Trance at several different locations (from the kitchen to the back porch. to the backyard, to the alley or driveway, etc.). 3) Only the Psychic Medium hears the sounds or words. Olfactory Symbols & Omens Sciemists agree that the sense of smell is strongly tied to memory and recollection. A particular smell might remind you of Grandma's house and unleash a torrent of fond memories and wann emotions. The smell of antiseptic mingled with blood might remind you of the intensive care unit and the death of a parent or grandparent, and a feeling of loss or sorrow. Meanwhile, the aroma of fresh baked bread might remind you of the bakery you passed every day on the way to school or of mom's home cooking. The Psychic Medium's link to his Spirit Guide provides the character with additional infonnation, clues and warnings through the character's sense of smell, but not ordinary smells, these are phantom odors that hold special meanings. It's important 10 note that phantom odors do not occur on a regular or constant basis like the ordinary sense of smell of the living. Phantom odors only happen when the Psychic Medium is concentrating on a specific problem, he spends six I.S.P., and is 30 actively searching for clues ("what happened here'?") or trying to put together the pieces of a puzzle/mystery. Thus, though it may sound a bit humorous, the Psychic Medium can sniff out evil and the supernatural. If the phantom odor is strong, the danger is immediate or the supernatural presence close at hand. A slight smell is likely to indicate a presence or involvement of the supernatural in the past. I.S.P. Cost: Six points to call forth the Olfactory sensory ability at will. Duration: One melee round. Note: Phantom smells may also occur as an automatic warning system (at no I.S.P. cost) to alert the character to the presence of the supernatural (that is important to know about) and immediate danger, especially if that danger is at the hands of supernatural evil. Notable Pbantom Odors Each notable smell indicates or symbolizes a specific thing and may be good or bad, happy or sad, innocent or deadly. Alyss um: A linle white flower, symbolizing life and purity. Apple or Fruity: Goodness, sweet, tasty, desire. Baby SmellfBa by Powder: Represents human birth, or an infant or young child. Baked Bread: Symbolizes hearth and home, food and nourishment, comfort and familiarity. Bleach or Disinfectant: Symbolizes making something clean by scrubbing away a stain. Chamomile: Symbolizes healing. Chemica l Smell: Symbolizes sanitized, institution, hospital, sickness. Ci nnamon: Represents good fortune, something to look forward to, on the right track. Citrus: Symbolizes natural freshness and cleanliness (includes lemons and oranges). Coffee: A fresh coffee smell symbolizes morning, specifically a work morning. A strong or burnt coffee smell represents a long workday, Slaying awake, sleeplessness. Cut Grass: Represents summertime and goodness. Diesel Exhaust: Symbolizes transportation and big cities. Lilac & Blossoms (apple, cherry): Symbolizes springtime and rebirth. Musty: Symbolizes the old, aging, or the forgonen. Peppermint: Freshness and the wind. PlantfTree Resin or Sa p: Symbolizes blood and blood ties (ancestors and relatives). Roses: Symbolize love, both family and romantic love, closeness and happiness. SweatIBody Odor: Indicates hard labor or confinement. Van illa : Symbolizes cooking and baking, food, wannth and prosperity. Wood Burning: Purification through fire (a lighter smell, hickory or pine, perhaps) or destruction by burning (heavy, smoky smell).
Omens of the Supernatural When there is a warning, omen or sign that can't be ignored, the Psychic Medium is suddenly accosted by a phantom smell that only he detects. There is no I.S.P. or P.P.E. cost involved, the phantom smell just occurs. This is especially common when a supernatural force has been present in the last 72 hours, as well as when a supernatural presence(s) is nearby. The scent or smell cannot, however, be traced to anyone person if the supernatural being has used magic or a shape changing ability to appear human or as an ordinary animal, or has taken possession of some poor soul's body. In many cases, the phantom smell just marks the creature's passage or its current presence in the general vicinity. When investigating a crime or other past event, such an odor indicates the supernatural being's presence, involvement or complicity in that past event. Note: To del iberately search for an olfactory clue, the Psychic medium must expend 6 I.S.P., but omens and warnings simply happen, unsought, and without I.S.P. cost. Charcoa l or Coal Burning: Fire Elemental or fire-based supernarural being. Damp Earth: Earth Elemental or earth-based supernarural spirit. FeceslExcrement: Warns of the presence of Deevils, Lesser and Greater. Ga rlic: Warns ofvarnpireslthe undead. Incense (light): A smoky perfume smell that symbolizes ghosts and Entities that are not an immediate threat or danger (includes Poltergeists and some Haunting Entities). Incense (heavy): A smoky perfume smell that symbolizes wicked ghosts and Entities that hurt people or represent an immediate threat or danger (includes Syphons, Possessing Entities, etc. - Tectonic Entities haye a metallic odor). Machine Oil andlor Burning WirelPlastic: Warns of Gremlins. Musk: Warns of Were-Beasts and other supernatural predators. Ocean/Sea (has a tinge of sa lt to it): Water Elementals or water-based supernatural spirit. Onions: Caution, something is not right, beware. Ozone: Indicates the use of magic. The scent is especially strong when the magic deals with the creation of dimensional portals, Rifts and Teleportation, but may also indicate an Alien Intelligence or Sowki. Rotting Human Flesh: Symbolizes murder, death and corpses. Rotting MeaUDead Anima l: Turns the stomach and warns of Ghouls (most varieties, including the Dybbuk, Dimensional Ghoul and Grave Ghoul), but also the Nacarant. Skunk: A bad omen, tum back, go away. Sour Milk: Warns of eviL SulrurlBrimstonelRotten Egg: Warns of Greater Demons. Urine (cat urine specifically) and Hot Ta r/Asphalt: Warns of Lesser Demons. Wet Dog (stinky): Warns of Hell Hounds. 31 Palladium fanta~y RP6 · Construct Animation Magic Optional Material for the Palladium Fantasy RPG® By Evan Cooney Ages ago, when the Elf-Dwarf War began, the Elves rapidly realized they would need some force to counter the Rune Magic of the Dwarves. They handed the task of finding it to their scholars and mages in the hidden forest city of Montlla Laet. Within centuries, not long at all for an Elf, word came that they were on the verge of a major breakthrough. The Elves poured resources and manpower into the frozen north, sending many of their best Wizards and scientists to expedite the discoveries that were promised. The greatest product of this effort was a new school of magic called Construct Animation. The Elves found that by channeling large amounts of their own energy into inanimate objects they could give them magical powers and a limited intellect. Unfortunately for the Elves, this was a highly unstable process, and many mages were nearly killed when they were unable to control how much of themselves was given up to the creation. Even worse, all of these creations were temporary, lasting as long as a month, but sometimes as little as a few minutes! With the war raging, the Elves raced to find solutions. The first improvement was to stabilize the channeling of energy, allowing only vet)' specific amounts to be pumped into the spell. Naturally, the less that was given, the less significant the result was, but it was a great improvement over the uncontrollable early days. While these small creations were impressive by the standards of anyone else, the Elves were not satisfied. If they were going to counter the immense powers of the Dwarves, they were going to need something powerful and long lasting, and they were going to need it fast! The Elves drove themselves to fmd ways of extending the duration of their creations, eventually even discovering ways to make them permanent. The toll was great for these improvements, but the Elves of Moralla Laet did not care; they were at war for the survival of their race, and victory was worth any price. Try as they might. they could not create a weapon to rival a Rune blade. While the Dwarven creations harnessed the bound spirits of living entities, the Elves were seeking to create a mind from nothing, something that simply could not be done. All of
their creations, weapons or otherwise, demonstrated only a very basic intelligence, comprehending instructions and acting as or· dered, but never fonning their own thoughts or taking the initia· tive. The Elves strove hard, feeling the pressure of the war closer to home as the banlefields of the New Kingdom began moving nonhward. They sought more resources, magic, and methods for destroying the enemy. An up and coming young Animation master named Gilthinias was the first to discover the secret of imparting true intelligence into his creations, but he would pay a terrible price. Working closely with his Summoner friends, Gilthinias would create a magic circle and ritual to impart a fragment of his own mind into an Animation as he created it. Ambition and overconfidence proved Gilthinias' end, for in his first attempt he strove not to animate just one creation, but four. With his sword, his long bow, his spell book, and his favorite chair at the four corners of his circle, Gilthinias invoked his new ritual, fully expect· ing to become master over the most powerful Animations ever created. Alas, the toll on his body was too great, and when the Summoners came to check upon him an hour later, they found his withered body lying in the middle of the circle, his dried skin stretched taut over his bones. To their amazement, however, the fou r objects were all hopping about the room, speaking with each other and trying to establish where they were and how they had come to be. Gilthinias was given a hero's funeral, and his notes were rapidly put into use by other Animators to create individual objects with both power and true intelligence. The Elves quickly discovered that unlike Rune objects, their intelligent Animations were free-thinking to the point that they cou ld argue with their "masters," refuse to cast spells, and even try to escape from the city. Rather than binding a mind to the object, they found they 32 had given the object a mind of its own. Even so, they continued their experiments in the desperate hope that a solution could be found. Soon, however, it became apparent that the toil taken by even these single creations was too great to bear, and the great hope the Elves had had for a quick solution to the Rune Magic problem began to fade. Animation might have died out completely if it wasn't for a mistake made one night by one of the last practicing Animators. Just as the Animator was at the peak ofa new ritual, trying to reduce the side effects of the Animation process, his pel dog ran into the room and jumped into the circle where the intended object had been. With horror, the Animator watched as his pet was flung across the room with a pained baric Expecting his best friend to be dead or maimed, the Elf hurtied to the dog's side, only to leap back in astonishment as it twitched and grew, soon rising to its hind legs and turning [0 face him. Already faint from the ritual, the Animator passed out on the spot, only to wake in the anns of his now very intelligent, very bipedal, and very concerned dog! Uproar swept the city as word raced around of what had happcned. Overnight, the Elfwent from be· ing one of the last Animators to the first of the great Elven Bio-AJchemists. Animals were broUght in from the homes of the mages, as well as the woods around the city, and it was rapidly confinned: the magic that cou ld not create an intelligent being from nothing could take an already living animal and transform it into a fully bipedal and highly intelligent version of itself! The excitement was electric in the air - if they could not create weapons to rival those of the Dwarves, they would create an entire race of animal-beings to crush them with overwhelming numbers and ferocity! While they fervently began production of an immense army, things elsewhere in the Elven Empire were not going so well.
Around this time, the Golden City of Baalgor was annihilated, bringing unprecedented chaos to Elvenkind. Furious at the malaise that had gripped the rest of the empire, and doubly eager now to fmd something that would tum the tide, the Elves of Moralla Laet brought in every type of beast. Large cats, rodents, bears, birds. and every conceivable creature were experimented with, but it would prove to be the canines that were the most easily changed and trained. The Elves trapped and imported huge numbers of canines of all types. especially foxes. coyotes, and wolves. In the dying days of the Elf-Dwarf War, a time when few messengers came from the south anymore, the Elves unleashed every possible Bio-Alchemical invocation upon these beasts. With dark thoughts filling their minds, and frequent insanities plaguing them as result of the use of incomprehensible magical forces, the Elves used harsh training and cruelty to mold the can ine races into heartless warriors, ready to destroy all enemies. It was at this point, with their annies finally ready to take to the field, that something happened that the Elves of Moralla Laet were completely unprepared fo r. Peace. Reconciliation. Purification. From their place so far in the north, hidden in the forest, the Elves could not comprehend the horrific casualties and destruction that had swept the rest of the Palladium World. To them they were just numbers, statistics lost under the tramping boot heels of 2,000 years of war. They sent the messengers away, stating that they, the Elves of Moralla Lae!, would succeed where the others had failed. They wou ld destroy the Dwarves with their powerful magic and newly created canine minions! To their amazement, they soon found themselves besieged by a combined army of both Elves and Dwarves calling themselves the Soldiers of PUrification, demanding disannament and immediate destruction of all the magical creations they had labored so long and hard to perfect. Rather than give up everything, the Elves of Moralla Laet went to war againstlheir own kind in what is most likely the last battle of the Elf-Dwarf War. Though powerful, it was a fight they could not win. Within a few months, the Soldiers of Purification had swept away the warriors of Moralla Laet in a decisive battle, along with most of their an imated comrades, mages, and many loyal canine soldiers. Just days later, the surviving BioAlchemists were executed for treason and for refusing to give up the dark arts, and the thousands of remaining canines and other animal-beings were sent out into the wilderness to die. The Soldiers of Purification then left from the north forever, content that they had cleansed it of the last remnants of the powers that once were in play there. True, the city was cleansed, but not everything was gone; for when they departed from the north, the Soldiers of Purification left behind one remnant of what Moralla Laet had done. In the chaos and insan ity of the fmal baltle. a few apprentices of the Animation school fled deep into the woods accompanied by a small group of canine minions. Though they never were able to rediscover the secrets that their masters had held, these apprentices were able to recreate and redirect what they did know, and mold the art into what it is today. 33 The Animator If the G.M. allows it, a player character may choose to be an Animator, starting at first level, having been apprenticed to one of the rare Animators hidden in the north. The character must be an Elf, Wolfen, Coyle. or Kankoran; the recl usive and paranoid instruclors accept no others, and no high level Animators are present in the reSI of the world to instruct others. Animation is a lost art 10 most of the world! Modem Construct Animation Magic is close 10 its early roots, creating machine-like Animations and lesser magical items (lesser compared to Rune weapons and their ilk, anyway). The more advanced art of BioAlchemy is irrevocably lost, forever wiped out by the Soldiers of Purification. Animator O.c.c. Abilities and Bonuses 1. Spells: Construct Animation is not the same as a Wizard's spell magic, and the Animator cannot learn Wizard spells other than those provided at certain levels 10 assist in his work. Similarly, a Wizard or other magic using O.C.C. cannot learn Construct Animation spells. As the Animator gains levels, new abilities will manifest themselves as his long periods of study and experimentation bear fruit. An Animator can use magic scrolls, provided they are in a language he understands, but he has no power of scroll conversion. 2. Identify Animation: An Animator can automatically determine the presence of An imation in an object by lOuching it. He will not know the item's function or power level, only that it is an Animation. If contact is not possible, the Animator can altempl to recognize Animation from observation. He must observe the item in its waking state for al least 2 melees, and then roll. Base Skill: 35% +5% per each level beyond first. Note that this skill only applies to modem-type Animated objects, it will not work on the actually living biological creations of the lost school ofBio-Alchemy. 3. Sense and Use Ley Lines: The Animator can sense the presence of ley lines and nexus points. While beneficial, an Animator's magic is nOI affected in the same way as a Wizard's. The Animator can draw upon the P.P .E. of the ley line/nexus to help fuel his creations, as well as to rapidly replen ish his own P.P.E. supply, but there is no bonus to the strength or duration of his magic. Animators who establish themselves in one location will try to do so near a ley line, so they can reduce the strain on their own reserves of magic. 4. Recognize Enchantment: Just as a doctor can recognize flu symptoms and disease, the Animator can recognize the influence of magic that channs, hypnotizes, or otherwise causes mind control (including trances, domination, compulsion, etc.). This ability also includes identifying magic sickness, curses, the effects of Faerie Food and Faerie Magic, and supernatural or magic possession. Illusions, metamorphosis, and psionic powers do not count as enchantment. Base Skill: 25% +5% per each level beyond first. 5. Recognize Magic: The mage has a certain percentage chance 10 recognize a magic item by shape, inscription, magic symbols, or intuition (gut feeling). It is important to understand
that while the character may know something has magical properties, he does not know what powers the item may have or how to use it. Base Skill: 20% +5% per each level beyond fITS!. 6. Magic Bonuses: +1 to save vs magic at levels one, three, six, ten, and fourteen. +3 to save vs HOlTor Factor and +2 to save vs possession. Spell Strength is 12, +1 at levels three, six, nine, twelve, and fifteen. 7. P.P.E.: All practitioners of magic are living batteries ofmyslic energy. The character draws from this energy to create magic and cast spells. Pennanent P.P.E. Base: 304x10, in addition to the P.E. attribute number. Add 206+2 P.P.E. per each level of experience, starting at level one. The Animator can also draw on P.P.E. from ley lines, nexus points, storage devices, and other people whenever they are available. Animations are not alive, so neither Animators nor anyone else can siphon P.P.E. from them. Alignment: Any. Attribute Requirements: I.Q. 12 or higher, M.E. 10 or higher, P .E. 10 or higher. D.C.C. Skills: Languages: Native tongue (98%) and one of choice (+15%). Literacy: Elven and one of choice (+15%). Lore: Demons and Monsters (+20%) Sculpting and Whittling (+ 15%) W.P. One of Choice. Hand to Hand: Basic Hand to Hand: Basic can be changed to Hand to Hand: Expert for the cost of two O.C.C. Related Skills or Martial Arts for the cost of three O.C.C. Related Skills. O.c.c. Related Skills: Select six other skills at level one. plus select one additional skill at levels three, six, nine. and twelve. All new skills start at level one proficiency. Communications: Any (+10%). Domestic: Any (+5%). Espionage: Detect Concealment and Traps. Forgery, and Imitate Voices & Impersonation only (+5%). Medical: Any (+ 10%). Military: None. Physical: Any. except Acrobatics. Gymnastics. Boxing, and Wrestling. Rogue: Any. Science: Any (+ 15%). Scholarffechnical: Any (+10%). Weapon Proficiencics: Any, except Lance and Long Bow. Wilderness: Carpenrry, Identify Plants & Fruits, Preserve Food, and Wi lderness Survival only (+10010 to Carpentry only). Secondary Skills: The character also gets to select six Secondary Skills from the previous list at level one, and two additional skills at levels four. seven, ten, and thirteen. These are additional areas of knowledge that do not get the advantage of the bonus listed in the parentheses. All Secondary Skills start at thc base sk illlcve!. Also, skills are limited (any, only, none) as previously indicated in the list. 34
Sta rting Equipment: Two sets of clothing, boots, a set of work gloves, belt, bedroll, backpack, one large sack, water skin, a 100 page notcbook. 3 crow quill pens. a bottle of ink, a small kit of woodworking tools, tinderbox, a lantern, and a 50 foot (15.2 m) lcngth of rope. Armor: Starts with soft leather (A.R. 10, S.D.C. 20). Weapons: A knife and one additional weapon of choice. All are basic S.D.C. weapons of good quality. Magic weapons and additional items are coveted by Animators, but must be acquired later. Animators have a strong attraction to heavy blunt wcapons such as maces, Hercules clubs, and staves, as they seem to be the best method of destroying Animations run amok. Money: The character starts with 150 in gold. Additional money will come from payment for scrvices rendered andlor the acquisition of booty. A high level Animator cou ld make a killing providing animated servants to the wealthy and roy~ alty. Ex perience: The Animator uses the Summoner experience chart. How Construct Animation Works Construct Animation is the process of adding a certain amount of magic, intellect, and capability to an otherwise inanimate object. By exerting the proper effort, as well as P.P .E. and possibly his own Hit Points, the Animator can "bring to life" various servants and assistants. Animations can communicate with the Animator, though frequently on a very limited basis. ig er~level Animations can also communicate with those around them through extended telepathy or even regular speech. An Animation only knows the primary language of its creator, unless another language is granted to it as a skill in the creation process. It is important to note that despite all this, an Animation is not acrually alive, no matter how advanced it may be or how intelligent it becomes. This can be both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, Animations are not affected by things like fa~ tigue, psychological or emotional warfare, or a desire to second-guess their purpose or motivation. On the down side, Animations lack true fee lings and emotions, function essentially like a machine, and have no abilities beyond those the Animator imbues them with. For exceptions to both these rules, see Fifteenth Level: Artificiallnrelfigence. All Animations have two states, awake and asleep. In its waking state, the Animated object is communicating, moving around., and is detectable via Presence Sense and other such detection abilities or spells. An Animation must be awake in order to function, take orders, or otherwise serve any purpose beyond a possible use as an inanimate tool. A sleeping Animation will register as magic if it is sensed for, but otherwise nothing will give it away as anything more than what it appears to be (a paintbrush, sword, suit of armor, pile of rocks, etc.). In order to switch states, the Animator touches the item and mentally wills it to wake up or go to sleep. The process is very fast, taking just one melee attack/action to complete. An Animator can even attempt to wake an Animation not belonging to him by touching it and concentrating for a full melee round. The object must save vs magic; a successful saving throw means nothing happens, while a failed roll means the Animation awakens. The Anima35 tion is under no obligation to do anything upon awakening, and depending on its type, abilities, and instructions, may go back to sleep within one melee, try to alert its owner, call guards, or even attack the interloper itself! It is not possible to force another Animator's creation to sleep. When creating an Animation for another person, the new "owner" must be present, and must be touch ing the objec!(s) to be animated. The creation does not have the innate ability to communicate with the Animator in this case, instead fonning its bond with the new owner. In cases where the Animation can talk or telepathically communicate with everyone this is not an issue, but lower level Animations will be completely mute to anyone but their owner. There are fi ve types of An imations: Trivial, Minor, Standard, Major, and Super. As an Animator increases in level, his Animation abilities move up this scale and have the potential to be more and more powerful. The more advanced types also cost the Animator much more to create. Many powerfu l Animations actually sap the Hit Points and attributes of the Animator, and leave him weakened for anywhere from several days to the rest of his life! Regardless of type, there are several aspects to an Animation that are important to know: Duration: Quite simply, how long the Animation lasts (un less destroyed or recalled, see below). Size: Small (no dimension larger than I footlO.3 meters), Medium (up to 3 feet on a side/0.9 m), Large (up to 6 feetll.8 m), or Huge (up to 15 feetl4.6 m). Hit Points: Each Animation gains a certain number of Hit Points in addition to the physical S.D.C. of the animated object. An Animation can be destroyed in four ways: I) The Animated object is smashed to bits. When the S.D.C. of the animated object is reduced to zero, the Animation is gone, leaving only the remains of the object. 2) The Hit Points are reduced to zero. This will destroy the Animation, leaving just the inanimate physical object bebind. The Animation's Hit Points cannot be damaged with gasses, electricity, fire, co ld, or nonnal kinetic attacks (though these may destroy the object's S.D.C., giving the same result). Psionic attacks, as well as magic spells such as Death or Life Drain, do full damage. Spells like Immobilize or Magic Net may be used to impair the Animation, though it will fight back if it has the ability to do so. If not destroyed, Hit Points recover at a rate of three per 24 hours. 3) A successful Banishment or Negate Magic spell will immediately destroy an Animation. Exorcism may also have some success at dispersing the magic, but the Animation saves at +3 (failure means it is immediately destroyed). Dispel Magic Barriers has no effect on an Animation. 4) Recall. The Animator who created an Animation can instantly eliminate the magic and return the object to its original state. A rival Animator can attempt to use recall on an Animation other than his own, but the Animation saves versus magic with a bonus equal to the level difference between the Animators. For example: A second level Animator at· tempting to recall the creation of a sixth level Animator would fmd it saving with a bonus of +4 against his Spell Strength of 12, while the sixth level Animator doing the same to his second level counterpart would have a relatively easy
time, the Animation saving at -4, and against his higher Spell Strength of 14. These bonuses and negatives are in addition to any save bonuses an Animation has based on its type. An Animator will immediately know when a recall is attempted against one of his crear-ions, successful or not, and will know which creation it was. A recall requires physical contact with the object, and can be done as often as once per minute with one's own devices, but only once per hour with somebody else's. An Animation is like ly to fight back in any way possible against a hostile recall, and if the creator is nearby, will tclcpathically scream for him. Cost: The cost of creating an Animation can be massive, draining the Animator of more than just P.P.E. For this reason, many Animators prefer to do their imponant Animations at home or in another secure place where they can recover from the rigors of casting. Animations done on the road are usually lesser types, either to serve some quick function or to amuse and impress common folk. There are four aspects to the cost: P.P.E.: All spells cast by the Animator cost a certain amount of P.P.E., which recovers as usual through rest or charging from a ley line or battery-type source. Hit Point: There ace two types of Hit Point costs, Temporary and Semi-Pennanent. A Temporary Hit Point cost will recover nonnally after Animation. These Hit Points can only recover naturally; magic or psionic healing has no effecI, nor do healing pOlions or Bio-Regeneration! A completely natural healing booster, such as AI-Kazin, can be used. A Semi-Permanent Hit Point cost is far more extreme. These Hit Points cannot be regained so long as the Animation exists. In order to recover them, the Animator must either recall his creation or wait for the duration to elapse, after which they recover the same as a Temporary loss. If the Animation is destroyed by any other means, these Hit Points are pennanently lost! Most Animators are extremely careful with their creations that have Semi-Permanent costs. Attribute: Certain Animations will actually sap the physical and mental attributes of the Animator. In general, one day of rest or light activity per physical attribute point and/or 3 days per mental attribute point will see the Animator back to full health again. The recovery periods for different attributes are concurrent. Material: It is wise 10 use top quality items and materials in Animations to keep them from breaking, being destroyed, or otherwise falling apart from wear. If the Animator wants to create an animated suit of annor to guard his chamber, he needs the su it of annor first, and probably a weapon or two. The creation is only as strong as the material it is made of. Note: Yes, it is possible to animate a magic item such as fireproof annor. It is not possible, however, to give a magic item requiring activation to an Animation and expect it to be used. Animations are not a live and cannot activate a ring of flight or similar item. Under no condition can a Runic item of any type be animated. Attributes: Every Animation gains certain attributes, though they vary widely from one type to another. The most basic of these are I.Q. and Speed, both of which are present in every Animation from Trivial to Super. If an object has no leg-like 36 appendages, its Speed is limited to a maximum of 10 regardless of the listed maximum, and it can only hop or roll along the ground. For example, a chair or a trivet has legs; most picture frames or swords do not. The physical attributes of Strength and Prowess only appear in higher-level Animations, and then only in constructs with some sort of anns andlor legs. For this reason, many Animators are experts with various tools and materials, allowing them to create functional objects with these additions. Mental attributes other than I.Q. only show up in Animations granted artificial intelligence. All Animations arc tireless, P.E. being effectively unlimited. Abilities: Most Animations have limited abilities, usually consisting ofa few magical spells or useful skills that allow them to serve their purpose. The higher level and more advanced an Animation is, the more abilities it usually has, and the more different functions it can serve. In general, an Animation can use its spell abilities as often as it has melee actions until it runs out of P.P.E. An Animation's spells and skills are cast/used at the same level of experience as the Animator who created it was or the time 0/ creotian. The only exceptions to this are the Companion Animations (see below). Animator Magical Abilities With each advancement in level, the Animator instinctively knows how to perfonn one or more feats of magic. The magic may be the equivalent of a Wizard spell with the same P.P.E.
cost and spell performance unless otherwise stated, or the power may be something unique accompanied by a description. First Level At first level the Animator gains the D.C.C. 's special abilities, but he cannot make Animations yet. Spell Magic: Blinding Flash, Decipher Magic, Globe of Daylight, See Aura, and Sense Magic. Second Level Trivial Animation: Duration: I hour per level of the Animator. Size: Small size only. Hit Points: 106, plus I per level of the Animator. S.D.C. is unchanged. Cosl: 20 P.P.E. Allributes: I.Q. 3, Speed 3. Abilities: One attack per melee. The Animation knows one of its crealOr's spells, and will use that spell to help it complete whatcver task it is given. A Trivial Animation functions like the most basic of robots, following its last order until given a new order, it is destroyed, or the magic expires. Instructions must be kept very basic, and only very limited communication is possible. Adding anns or legs to a trivial Animation has no effect, and physical combat is not possible. Bonuses: None. P.P.£.: 15, recovers 3 per hour. Third Level Spell Magic: Armor of Ithan, Ignite Fire, Invisibility: Simple, Animatc Object. Duration Extension: The Animator can extend the period of time an Animation exists by pumping more P.P.E. into the object at the time of creation. An additional 75% of the original P.P.E. cost will keep the Animation around fo r an extra duration period. For example, if an Animation costs the caster 40 P .P.E. for 10 hours, he can expend anothcr 30, 60, 90 or more P.P .E. to extend lIle duration an additional 10, 20, 30 or more hours. Fourth Level Minor Animation: Duration: 2 hours per level of the Animator. Size: Up to Medium size. Hit PoinlS: 10+206, plus 104 per level of the Animator. S.D.C. is one and a halftimes normal. Cosl: 40 P.P.E. Attributes: I.Q. 104+2, Speed 6. Abilities: Two attacks per melee. A Minor Animation is a step up in power from the Trivial type, granting an object the ability to effectively communi37 cate with his creator via telepallly and handle slightly more complex tasks. A Minor Animation can cast two spells its Animator knows, and can have one skill known by the Animator, excluding Physical skills or Weapon Proficiencies. Adding arms and legs to a Minor Animation will allow it to walk upright and carry things, but it is not dexterous enough to wield a weapon or fight. Bonuses: + 1 to save vs magic. P.P.E.: 25, recovers 4 per hour. Fifth Level Spell Magic: Fire Bolt, Magic Net, and Horrific Illusion. Lesser Companion: Companions arc the Animator's version of a Familiar. This spell conjures a Companion Animation out of nothing, creating a servant who will follow the Animator around, handling small tasks for him. It acts very much like an intelligent dog, serving loyally, doing whatever is asked of it. Frequently it is used as a type of valet in the home, or acts as a porter on trips, helping to carry the Animator's bags. Companions last until destroyed or recalled, and high-level Animators may well have the same Companion servant for decades. Only one Lesser Companion can be maintained at a time. It is not recommended that they engage in combat, as they can use no weapons, fi ght without bonuses, and their loss hurts the Animator. They appear as a short (no more than four fooll1.2 m) humanoid shape that is essentially an animated set of clothing. The physical body is primarily an ectoplasm-type substance; the facia l features are limited to pale areas where the eyes and mouth would be. Hit Points: 20, plus ID6 per level of the Animator. S.D.C. is ID6 per level of the An imator, increasing as the level of the Animator increases. Cost: 80 P.P.E., ID6 Hit Points (Semi-Permanent). Attributes: I.Q. 304, P.S. 10, P.P. 8, Speed 10. Abilities: Two attacks per melee. The Lesser Companion serves as an assistant and porter to the Animator. An Animator can sense lIle location of his Lesser Companion if within 100 miles (160 km), and gains a bonus of + I to save versus magic and illusions from his link with it. A Lesser Companion has only one magic ability: In· visibility: Simple, which can be used at will. These companions speak fl uently in the Animator's native language via telepathy, but still cannot communicate with anyone other than their creator. They start with four skills known by the Animator who created them, and gain one additional skill for every two levels lIle Animator eams beyond the level at which he created the Companion. Companions are the on ly Animations who increase in ability as the Animator docs. Lesser Companions cannot learn Physical skills or Weapon Proficiencies. Bonuses: +2 to save vs magic, +1 to dodge. P.P.£': None, unnecessary.
Sixth Level Standard Animation: Duration: I day, plus one day per level of the Animator. Size: Up to Large size. Hit Points: 20+406, plus ID6 per level of the Animator. S.D.C. is double normal. Cost: 100 P,P.E., 206 Hit Points (Temporary). Attributes: I.Q. 2D4+2, P,S. 2D6+4, P.P. 204+4, Speed 12. Abililies: Three attacks per melee. The creation of a Standard Animation is a true sign that an Animator is no longer just an apprentice. With this increased mastery, the Animator creates these longer lasting and morc rounded out minions. For the ftrst time, the Animation is capable of effective melee combat in addition to its spell knowledge. skills and abilities. A Standard Animation is capable of casting any two spells the Animator knows, as well as having any three skills of the Animator, including Physical and Weapon skills. In addition, the Standard Animation has the ability to telepathically communicate with anyone within 50 feet (15.2 m). The creation needs arms and legs to fight effectively, so statues and topiaries are frequent subjects of a Standard Animation. Physical damage depends on the Animation, G.M.'s discretion, or by weapon. Bonuses: +2 to save vs magic, + 1 to dodge. P.P.E.: 60, recovers 5 per hour. Seventh Level Spell Magic: Fly as the Eagle, Detect Poison, and Fire Ball. Body Fonnation: Rather than animate an object, the Animator is able to mcntally mold golem-like bodies for his creations out of piles of unconnected items. A heap of rubblc, a pile of branches, a collection of household goods, a stack of bones, or any other group of items no smaller than one inch (2.5 cm) can be whipped up and molded into a roughly humanoid shape for the Animation to inhabit. Monster humers and priests may mistake the Animation for a Tectonic Entity and act accordingly. G.M.s can use the A.R. and S.D.C. chart from Tectonic Entities on page 54 of Monsters and Animals: Second Edition to detennine the S.D.C. and A.R. of the Animation, or can decide upon their own. Remember that the body is still bound by the size restrictions of the Animation, and can only be as large as the amount of material allows. P.P.E. cost is 10 for a Small Animation, 20 for a Medium, 40 for a Large, and 80 for a Huge, in addition to the cost of the Animation itself. Eighth Level Auto-Wake: The Animator can give his Animation instructions to awaken automatically under certain conditions and perfonn a given task. For example: " If anyone enters this room without me, awaken and destroy them" will send the Animation into a slumber, only to wake and attack any (most likely unsuspecting) intruders who come into the room. Another use would be, " When the moon is at its zenith, light a fIre under this cauldron." The Animation will do the best it can to 3. fulfill whatever instruction is given using whatever is available to it. Upon completion of the task, it will return to where it was and go back to sleep. An instruction can be a one-time order or a perpetuaVrepeating task (specified at the time of the order). Giving an Auta-Wake order to an Anirriation costs 25 P.P.E. for a one-time use, 50 P.P.E. for repeating. The other aspect of this power is that the Animator no longer needs to touch his own creations to awaken them or send them to sleep. Simply being with 20 feet (6. 1 m) of them is sufficient, and with concentration and the word "sleep" or "awaken," he can change their state. Visual contact is not necessary, so long as he knows the approximate location. This takes one full melee to do, but costs nothing. Ninth Level Spell Magic: Negate Magic, Sense Dimensional Anomaly, Stone to Flesh, Transferal. Major Animation: Duration: 1 week, plus one week per level of the Animator. Size: Any size, Small to Huge. Hit Points: 2D4xiO+20, plus 206 per level of the Animator. S.D.C. is two and a halftimes nonnal. Cost: 130 P.P.E., 2D6 Hit Points (Temporary), 1D6 Hit Points (Semi-Permanent), 1 M.E. and I P.E. Attributes: I.Q. 204+4, P.S. 3D6+4, P.P. 3D6+2, Speed 20. Abilities: Four attacks per melee. A Major Animation is a force to be reckoned with. With problem solving abi lities equal to some sentient beings, and above average physical attributes, a Major Animation can be givcn instructions and left to independently carry out its duties, coming up with solutions to simple problems as needed. A complex issue that it cannot figure out will send it looking for assistance from its master, or any non-hostile seeming person who happens to be nearby, unless instructed otherwise. Major Animations can speak out loud as well as tclepathically, and no matter what they are created from, they will appear to have some sort of face somewhere on them, including a mouth that visibly moves when speaking. A Major Animation can have four magic spells known by the Animator, 4 skills (induding Physical and Weapon skills), and one of the following natural abilities: See the Invisible, Wingless Flight (30 mphJ48 km), Breathe Fire (from the mouth, 4D6 damage, 30 foot/9.1 m range), Tum lnvisible at Will, or Bia-Regeneration (2D6 S.D.C. as often as once every 2 melees, no Hit Points). Bonuses: +3 to save vs magic, +1 to strike, parry, and dodge, in addition to any attribute bonuses. P.P.E.: 90, recovers 6 per hour. Tenth Level Greater Companion: The Greater Companion is a powerful warrior and travel· ing companion. A humanoid manifestation of near-solid ectoplasm, it appears with the distinct features of the Animator's race, and a dark gray complexion. An Animator can sense the location of his Greater Companion if within 500 miles (800
Ion), and gains 15 Hit Points from his link with ir. Should his Greater Companion ever be destroyed, these points are lost along with the "Semi-Permanent" portion of the casting cost. The Greater Companion was designed specifically to be the Animalor's double in all he does, and it will happily accompany him anywhere, going on any mission it can. Hit Points: 75, plus IDa per level of the Animator. S.D.C. is 40 + ID6 per level oflhe Animator, increasing as the level of the Animator increases. Cost: 160 P.P.E., 306 Hit Points (Temporary), 206 Hit PoinlS (Semi-Permanent). Attributes: l.Q. 206+4, P.S. ID6+15, P.P. ID6+12, Speed 24. Abilities: Four attacks per melee. These Companions speak fluently in the Animator's native language both via telepathy and through regular speech. They will know eight skills of any type known by the Animator who created them, and gain one additional skill for every two levels the Animator earns beyond the time they were created. They also have 4 spells from their master and can learn one more for every three levels the Animator gains beyond the time they were created. Greater Companions can be any size from one to fifteen feet (0.3-4.6 m) in height, but usually somewhere in the middle is most convenient. The Companion can wear armor, wield weapons, and fight competently on the ground or even from horseback (if Horsemanship is known). Only one Greater Compan ion can be maintained at any given time, though it is possible to have one Greater and one Lesser Companion at the same time. An Animator can recall his Greater Companion, but it is rare that he would do so, for many Animators who att&in th is level of mastery fmd themselves looking to their unquestioning Companions as friends and confidanlS. Bonuses: +5 to save vs magic, +1 to strike, parry, and dodge, +210 damage, plus attribute bonuses. P.P.E.: 100, recovers 8 per hour. Eleventh Level Spell Magic: Banishment, ControVEnslave Entity, and Phantom Horse. Pennanence: In exchange fo r a bit of his own essence, the Animator can render one of his creations permanent. If this is done, several things occur: I. The Animation can no longer be dispelled or recalled. 2. Any "Semi-Permanent" Hit Points expended in creation are lost, in addition to the new cost (below). 3. The Animation gains 104 to its LQ., P.S. (if applicable) and Speed, and 50 Hit Points. The cost to the Animator prevents this ability from being used frequently, but one or two favorite assistants or items may be granted this. The creation of a Permanent Animation for another person is even more unusual, and the Animator will be sure to charge a premium for this lasting effect on his body and mind. Cost: All expenditures are permonenr, and can never be recovered once expended in a Permanence spell. 39 • Trivial Animation: ID4 Hit PoiOlS, 2 P.P.E. • Minor Animation: 104+1 Hit Points, 4 P.P.E. • Standard Animation: 106 Hit Points, 6 P.P.E. • Major Animation: 2D4 Hit Points, 8 P.P.E. • Super Animation: 206+2 Hit Points, 10 P.P.E. Pennanence must be instilled in an Animation within a week of the time it is created. Twelfth Level Super Animation: Duration: 1 month, plus two weeks per level of the Animator. Size: Any size, small to huge. Hit Poinrs: 30 6x I0+50, plus 30 6 per level of the Animator. S.O.C is triple normaL Cost: 180 P.P.E., 306 Hit PoinlS (Temporary), ID8+2 Hit PoinlS (Semi-Pennanent), I LQ. point, 2 M.E. poinlS and 2 P.E. points. Attributes: LQ. 3D6, P.S. 4D6+4, P.P. 306+4, Speed 30. Abilities: Five attacks per melee. Super Animations are the most powerful creations of an Animator. Easily equal to any golem or upper-level man at arms, an Animator with a Super Animation at his side should be taken very seriously. A Super Animation has the same hand to hand skill as its creator in addition to 6 other skills, along with 5 magic spells and two natural abilities from the following list: See the Invisible, Wingless Flight (30 mph/48 km), Breathe Fire (from the mouth, 406 damage, 30 footl9.1 m range), Spit Lightning (from the mouth, 3D6 damage, \00 footl30.5 m range), Supernatural Strength, Turn Invisible al Will, Impervious to Fire, Impervious to Electricity, or Bio-Regeneration (206 S.D.C as often as once every 2 melees/30 seconds, no Hit Points). With their high capacity for logic and problem solving, Super Animations can work through even complex issues, and are able to understand the benefits of a strategic retreat for time or repairs. They still do not demonstrate any true personality, however, performing more like a powerful computer in the modern world than a person. Some Super Animations are actually created that encompass entire living areas, with whole rooms being Animations with control of all their internal parts such as doors, windows, and built-in cabinets. Others are powerful warriors deployed on the battlefield 10 spearhead charges, equipped in strong armor and with magical weapons, with orders 10 pull out before destruction. A third (and extremely dangerous) type are animated weapons, powerful enough to make a significant difference on the average battlefield through the use of their spells. Bonuses: +4 to save versus magic, +2 to strike and parry, +4 to damage, plus any attribute bonuses. P.P.E.: 120, recovers 8 per hour. Thirteenth Level Size Enhancement: The maximum size of an Animation can be increased one step without any further P.P.E. cost. Major Animations can be expanded past Huge by one foot (0.3 m) for
every two levels of the Animator, and Super Animations can pass Huge by one foot (0.3 m) for every level. This means that a fifteenth level Animator could have a Super Animation up to 30 feet (9. 1 m) in each dimension (length, width, and height), without any increase in P.P.E. cost. This will give the Animation the S.D.C. of the Animation type above it, or in the case of Super Animations, gives it three and a half times the standard S.D.C. Fourteenth Level Transformation: The Animator can give his Animation the ability 10 transform into a tiny replica of its full-size self. The item is shrunk to approximately one inch (2.5 em) per one foot (0.3 m) of size. It wi ll still be made of whatever material il is normally, just in extreme miniature. The Animation must be sleeping to be transformed, and must be changed back to normal to be awakened. The transformation either way takes one full melee round, and is performed by the Animator touching the object and mentally commanding it to change. It is one of the ancient losl fonns of this ability, combined with other magic, which gave rise to the first Guardian Stones! P.P.E. cost is 150 to instill this ability, after which, changing can be done without cost. Fifteenth Level Artificial Intelligence: The Animator has become a grand master of the art, harnessing secrelS rare even during the peak of the Elven Empire. At this level ofmaslery, the Animator can actually fragment his essence and place a portion of it in one of his Animations. This process is the only ritual or circle type Animation Magic, and is more taxing to the Animator than any other ability he has. It is not something that he is capable of doing more than a few times in his life, if he is even willing to do it at all. The incredible power of this ability is as follows: I. The Animation's I.Q. jumps to 306+6. 2. The Animation is now permanently "awake." 3. The Animation's Hit Points double. 4. The Animation gains an M.E. and M.A. of3D6. 5. Most importantly, the Animation gains an independent personality with the ability for abstract thought. The intelligent Animation can now independently learn skills and train in the non-magical arts, improvise solutions based on observations and deductions, and operate as an almost normal person in the world (with the likely exception of its appearance). While the Animation maintains its P.P.E. and spell abilities, it cannot increase its spell knowledge or study any magical D.C.C.; though if made Permanent it can successfully pursue a career in combat or scholarly pursuits. The Animation has the capacity to understand and discuss theology, philosophy, and most significantly, it can think independently enough to disagree with its creator! A Permanent and Artificially Intelligent Animation could easily outlive the Animator who made it, and could become a wise immortal champion or a long-lasting super-villain, depending on the people it ends up with. The more hwnan-appearing it is, the more likely it will be accepted into normal society somewhere. The mind of the Artificially Intelligent Animation is completely free from that of its creator's in all but two ways. First, the aligrunent will remain in the same category (good, selfish, evil), and second, the Animation will share any non-magically or psionically induced insanities of its creator. Cost: Imbuing an Animation with Artificial Intelligence will take even the most powerful Animator out of the game for a time, and can easily have lifelong effects. 500 P.P.E., 1D4xlO Hit Points (Temporary), 406 Hit Points (Semi-Permanent),3 l.Q. points, 3 M.E. points, and 3 P.E. points. If the Animation is made Pennanent, then 20 P.P.E., the Semi-Permanent Hit Point cost, and one of the three points from each attribute become permanent losses, in addition to the cost of the Pennanence spell itself! Artificial Intelligence must be instilled in the Animation at the time it is created, and cannot be used on a transformable creation. Clearly, this is not an ability to toy around with. Unknown Depths Optional Source Material for the Palladium Fantasy RPG® By Andrew Rusling With the rising sun / awoke, barely alive; the Tezcat attack had been devastating. But surviving the attack was not miraculous compared to what happened next. / was actually saved by what / knew to be man-eating Lizard Men! A small group of Lizard Men found me and carefully carried me back to their village so thaI my wounds could heal. My injuries kept me confined to their village long enough to learn marry details of the Lizard Men's society Ihat have remained a secret to mankind since the 40 dawn of lime. However, it was not enough 10 satisfy my raging curiosity. / stayed on in the village long after I was healed, to live and learn with the Lizard Men. I also traveled briefly to some of Iheir neighboring tribes. My stay in the land of the Lizard Men took up three months of my life. Eventually, and with some regret, / caught a trading skiff back to civilizalion where I penned this document. Until now the society of the Lizard Men has been closed to the outside world. Surprisingly, this is not because Ihe Lizard
Men actively keep it a secret. Their culture has remained a secret because no one has taken the time to try and understand what drives them. Most humans that travel through an area inhabited by Lizard Men 1010l/y focus on Iheir own safety. The irony is (hoi understanding the Lizard Men will practically guarantee the safety of any traveling porty. /1 is true rhat a few months ago I thought of Ihe Lizard Men as nothing more Ihon a mom/rous race 10 be avoided. It took a vicious attack on our boat by Tezcats to change that silly notion. - Dern Qual, Traveling Scholar The Lizard Men are among the most focused creatures of the Palladium World. Their instinct 10 reproduce and grow their tribe is unparalleled. Lizard Men are very social creatures who love personal contact and conversation. Their villages are hives of activity, with a multitude of friendly conversations and meetings going on at all times. This is in stark contrast to the silent stares of the Lizard Men for any outsider who ventures near their village. For all of the love that Lizard Men have for one another, their ambivalence towards others can result in swift and decisive action. It seems that their love for one another is only matched by their desire for war. I -- - --; 41 Leadership Three individuals share the leadership of the tribe. The Muccnarra (Muck-nar-ra) or Overseer, the Chyarmon (Chee-air-mon) or War Chief, and the Hunnsoo (Hun.-soo) who is the Spiritual.Guide. All three names are honorary tltles;.upoo accession the Lizard Man is given a new name correspondmg to their rank. Hence, al1 Muccnarra are addressed as "Muccnarra." These positions are not restricted to anyone gender, but it is rare for fema les (8%) to obtain any of them. There is also a council of elders who help to guide the Muccnarra, Chyarmon and Hunnsoo. To become a member of the council the candidate must be nominated by one of the existing coun~il members. A council vote is then taken to ascertain if the candidate is worthy of acceptance. There are usual1y between 5 to 8 members in the council at any time. The Muccnarra, Chyarrnon, Hunnsoo and council meet once each week to discuss all aspects of the tribe. The Muccnarra is in general command of the tribe; it is his responsibility to oversee the growth and exp,ansion, o~ the ~be. He oversees the resource gathering, expanSIOn, cnmmal tnals, punishment and the general day-to-day adminis~tio~ of the tribe. He also acts as tribal spokesman when dealing WIth other tribes and the outside world. The honorary dress worn by all Muccnarra is a colorful yet elegant poncho. With a change of season, ex isting council members may challenge for the po~ition of Muccnarra. The chal1enge is put to a council vote and If the
challenge is successful, the newcomer has one month to prove his worth. Failure, as deemed by a council vote, results in expulsion from the council. The previous Muccnarra then assumes control once more. The Chyarmon is the strongest and most skilled warrior of the tribe. He controls the military, which is a sizeable part of any Lizard Man tribe. In times of war, the Chyarmon assumes full control of the tribe and leads its warriors into battle. The long-standing members of the army guide the Chyarmon in his leadership duties. The guidance of the experienced warriors is very important, because the Chyarmon is not necessarily a good leader or tactician. He has attained the position of Chyannon purely through individual prowess in combat. Leading and directing a large fo rce of warriors is not an easy task, and many who challenge for the position of Chyannon fail to realize this. The Chyarmon dresses like all other high-ranking soldiers. The only symbol of his rank is an emblem of two crocodiles clashing, marked on his sword. When the seasons change, any member of the rribe who is not in the council, and who has permission from the Muccnarra, can challenge for the posicion of Chyarmon. On ly one candidate can challenge for the position of Chyannon. If there are mUltiple candidates, they must fight amongst themselves in tum to decide who will challenge the current Chyannon. When only one candidate remains, a trial by combat ensues. The winner of this combat takes up the position of Chyannon. All of the trials are fought with the individuals' preferred close combat weapons. The spectacle of these fights draws enough attention to make most of the tribe witnesses to the result. The eldest, and hence, the wisest priest (at least in the eyes of the Lizard Men) in the village will be the Hunnsoo. As the spiritual guide of the tribe, the word of the Hunnsoo is always held in high regard. Many Lizard Men seek out the Hunnsoo so that they may consult with him about their problems. The Hunnsoo is easily identifiable by £he large, black-feathered headpiece that they wear. favored religions among the Lizard Men include Pithism (worship of Pith, the Snake God) and The Church of the Seven Waters. Most tribes only follow one religion; this unity aids the tribe and makes them a strong force. Some of the larger tribes have up to three religious groups within the tribe. Each of these separate religious groups will be led by a Hunnsoo, with all of the Hunnsoo assisting the council and Muccnarra. The Hunnsoo in a one-religion tribe holds more sway than a Hunnsoo from a multi-religion tribe. If the Hunnsoo is close to death, be begins the rite of succession in which he enters a trance, which may last for several days, in order to seek divine guidance to select the next Hunnsoo. The exisling Hunnsoo will then take the walk of Chidome (Chee-dome); a final pilgrimage inlO the jungle and forever out of this world. Should one of the Hunnsoo die without announcing his replacement, the tribe priests will commune with the spirits during a lengthy private ceremony to appoint the new Hunnsoo. The extremely principled nature that flows through all Lizard Men is what drives their political process to work. In a more selfish or manipulative socicty, this system would fall apart as it is opcn 10 double crossing and trickery. 42 Trade and Business Lizard Men live in fam ily groups of 5 to 20. These partially self-sufficient family groups spend most of their time hunting, gathering and expanding their homes. Each family will own several canoes and maybe one medium to large outrigger canoe. It is very rare for any Lizard Man to own or operate a watercraft that is more substantial than a large outrigger. The family owned canoes are regularly used for fishing and occasionally for the transporting of trade goods. The river or lake on which the village is bu ilt is the highway for the village, with numerous canoes and swimmers crisscrossing the waterway. All trade and business carried out in the tribe is done wilh the intention of furthering the tribe. There is very little greed involved in these transactions. In regards to trade, the tribe acts in unison, almost operating like a hive mind. The unity of vision held by the Lizard Men allows them to expand thcir tribe and territory quickly. Every three days, a boisterous and exciling bartering session is held in the village center from noon till three. A huge variety of goods and services are traded between the tribe members. Hundreds of small trades are made in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere during the barter session. Fish, shellfish, crustaceans, leather, cloth, fruits and vegetables are the most commonly traded items. Substantial trades also occur on a regular basis. For example, it is commonplace for one fami ly 10 feed and clothe the second family while the second family builds a home or boat for the first family. These large trades strengthen the bonds of the tribe with many members helping each other to build a stronger tribe. Each family group regularly donates a small amount of resources to the village council. There are no tax collectors in lizard Man tribes; each fam ily willingly donates what they can. The food, clothing and other materials that are collected are used for the good of the tribe, as decreed by the Muccnarra. Weapon smiths, blacksmiths, tradesmen, healers and those in other vilal positions are paid a wage by the tribal council. All of the goods created by these tradesmen are evenly distributed amongst the tribe members. This system works because the lizard Men are a good-natured people and they share a unified vision of expansion. This vision of expansion is driven by their strong instinct to reproduce, and is reinforced by the tribal council as the way the tribe should proceed. Peaceful tribes trade semi-regularly wilh human settlements that are close by. Lizard Men traveling to the human settlements pcrfOml the majority of rrading, and some brave humans travel to the amenable tribes 10 perfonn small trades. The Lizard Men are always cautious of new traders who visit their tribe. Regard· less of the Lizard Men's caution, any trader will receive polite treatment provided they are polite and cause no trouble. Mother of pearl, food, medicines, drugs, dyes and feathers are lraded for human weapons, tools and annor. Each large tribe owns several tribal skiffs that are used to transport their trade goods. In general, humans treat the Lizard Men as savages; and often think they are cheating the Lizard Men on price. However, the Lizard Men are smart enough not to reveal how easy it is for them to acquire the trade goods that the greedy humans eagerly desire.
Villages Lizard Man villages are composed of densely packed bamboo stilt huts that are built over a river delta, lake or swamp. Straw thatched roofs and mud-lined walls protect the Lizard Men from the often-torrential rain of the Yin-Sloth Jungles. Temples are constructed in the center of the village, and are £wice the size of the surrounding buildings. The temples are plain buildings, only standing Qui due to their size. Inside each temple, a hall of worship rakes up most of the floor space. A couple of small rooms adjoining the rear of the temple provide accommodation for the Hunnsoo and the village priests. A large, open bamboo platform next to the temple is used for village meetings and bartering sessions. On the edges of the platform are several unassuming buildings which are allocated to the tribal tradesmen for their workshops. The village armory is usually found amongst these workshops. Additionally, several tribal storage buildings can be found here holding general supplies such as leather, rope, timber and cloth. Situated just outside of the center of the village are the ceremonial homes of the tribe's tradesmen and leaders. Around those buildings and further out are clusters of family homes. Bamboo walkways link most of the buildings in the village, creating a veritable maze. The buildings are clustered about, leaving barely enough room for people to walk between. Consequently, most trading with humans is perfonned of the edge of the village or at the village docks. A subtle aspect that many traders miss is the fact that a Lizard Man village is always impeccably clean and tidy. The Military For Lizard Men war is a fact of life, and a common occurrence for some tribes. Upon reaching adulthood all Lizard Men, including all females, serve 3 years in the tribe's army. After this they will serve in the army for one month each year. Approx imately \0% to 15% ofa village will be serving in the anny at any given moment. Upon completion of their fIrSt 3 years of service, a few selected Lizard Men are offered the chance to remain full time in the armed services. These select few may go on to become officers in the anny. Tribal resources are allocated to feed, clothe and house those Lizard Men who are currently serving in the army. Members of the clergy and magic users are the on ly tribe members that are excluded from the otherwise mandatory 3 years of military service. However, even these powerfu l individuals are required to train with the army on a regular basis. Such training focuses on combining the military and magical might of the tribe into an effective fighting force. The magical powers that are available are used as a first strike weapon to shock and confuse the enemy. It is rare for a man of magic or member of the clergy to become involved in hand to hand fighting, as a dedicated unit of warriors always protects them. At the start of the compulsory service, each warrior is allocated one weapon from the tribe's stockpile. This will usually be a large sword, ball and chain, spear or short bow. They are expected to care for and maintain the weapon, never trading or selling it. Many warriors also construct their own personal weapons such as knives, spears and bows. This practice is especially common among those who work full-time in the army. 43 Most Lizard Man warriors do not wear armor, as it impedes their ability to swim. Even in large tribes there will only be one or two units that make use of armor. Training exercises, which are led by the Chyarmon, mostly revolve around guerrilla warfare, with elements such as ambushes, stealth and coordinated strikes coming to the fore. The Lizard Men often attempt to combine their ability to climb with their fantastic swimming skills into an attacking maneuver. This maneuver results in the unsuspecting target being attacked from the trees, ground and water all at the same time! As devastating as this maneuver can be, it is very difficult to coordinate and is usually only successfully executed by the most veteran units of the army. In peacetime the anny's main duty is to patrol the edges of the village's territory. Patrols are perfonned in groups of6 to 12 and are self-sufficient while out on patrol. Any intruders that are found by the patrol will be tailed. Troublemakers will be scared away, or killed if they resist. The patrol sergeant will eagerly trade with non-threatening advenrurers, as lhey often have high quality weapons. If the adventurers are in real need of assistance, then most patrols will at least guide them away from danger. The other major activity carried out by the army during peacetime is construction. The anny is always at work for the good of the tribe, obtaining building materials or constructing tribal structures such as defenses, docks, walkways and storehouses. As the vi llage expands, the tribal defenses such as palisades and walls constantly need to be moved or rebuilt, providing a constant stream of work, enough to keep the anny busy. Territory and War Individual tribes use large tripods on both the land and waterways to show their territory. These tripods are generally constructed by tying three saplings together. Colorful feathers and died clolh are then strapped to the saplings. The tribe's basic colors will dominate these markers. It is difficult to miss these markings due to their size and bright, contrasting colors. Spotting the markings is not the problem for any would-be traveler - it's knowing what they mean. Once a visitor recognizes that they are in Lizard Man territory, they should travel in the middle of the river. It is wise to only approach the shore to resupply when absolutely necessary. Traveling in the middle of the river signals to the Lizard Men that you are not there to take their land. If any Lizard Men approach the boat, the visitors will do well to show their palms at all times. Anns held high or arms pointed down, it does not seem to matter. The Lizard Men just like to know that the visitors are not armed. These !\Yo actions, combined with some polite conversation, will allow peaceful visitors to travel through the territory of all but the fiercest Lizard Man tribes. Conflict is in the blood of Lizard Men and as such, any warrior or council member may call for the tribe to go to war. Once the call has been made, the tribal leaders and council will meet to discuss the matter. When under attack from other tribes or races, the decision will almost always be war, and it will be declared hastily! Lizard Men will also go to war so that they may
--~- expand their territory, in an effort to further their steady expansion along the waterways. When the tribe does mobilize for war, the Chyannon will be placed in complete control of the tribe until the conflict has been resolved. The Chyannon will rally all of the tribe's adult members at the edge of the village. Each Lizard Man will bring along their allocated weapon, personal weapons and whatever provisions they can easily carry. This fonnidable force. which consists of roughly 70% of the tribe, will then move out to attack the enemy however the Chyannon sees fit. Advance scouting units will move ahead of the main anny to provide infonnation on the enemy's location and movements. Several veteran anny leaders will stay behind in the village. Their task is to organize the remaining Lizard Men and secure the village. Many outsiders would consider a few young Lizard Men to be a pushover; this could not be further from the truth. Lizard Men arc indoctrinated with the knowledge of war from a young age. Those who remain behind to defend their village do so in a tenacious and no-holds-barred manner. Traps, ambushes and close quarters combat will greet anyone who dares to attack a Lizard Man village during wartime. When fighting a war the Lizard Men fight with fierce determination and a strong sense of honor. They treat all prisoners of war fairly and never kill foes that could be captured. The wh ite flag of peace and a ll envoys of the enemy are granted the respect that they deserve. For all of the infonnation that I could gather on their warlike ways, there is an equal amount of infonnation that was hidden from me. I was never able to travel with the army or watch any 44 training session. No one would speak to me of the three battles against nearby Tezcat tribes which occurred while I was staying with the tribe. However, from the stories told by the Zarrhor. I was able to leam that twice they utterly destroyed the enemy's forces in through swift and decisive action. The third battle was never mentioned, and I wisely chose not to ask about it. Law and Order In general, Lizard Men are good people (with the vast majority of the tribe having the Principled alignment). With so many good people, the rate of crime is exceptionally low in a Lizard Man village. As an indication of how infrequently crime occurs, there are no locks in a Lizard Man village! These sharing and caring people do not think about crime, and they are shocked to their very core when it does occur. Crime is a shamefu l event in the minds of the Lizard Men. The shame suffered for committing a crime constitutes most of the punishment. When a crime has allegedly been committed, the Muccnarra and council will hold a solemn trial. During the trial, several Lizard Men will be called to speak before the council about the crime. After all of the speakers have fUlished, the council and Mucnarra confer in private. The Mucnarra, who has the final say over the verdict and punishment, will announce the result of the trial as soon as it is known. During the next bartering session, one of the appointed council members will reveal the details of the trial to all interested parties. A convicted criminal will be shunned by the majority of the village. For several months they will be avoided and any conversations that they have with fellow tribe members will be abrupt and to the point. Heinous crimes such as murder and violent assault customarily result in the most dreaded punishment of all - banishment. Those who are banished are doomed as lost souls in the eyes of their tribe. They arc destined to wander alone until the end of their days. For these social creatures it is sometimes more than they can handle. Those who do not go adventuring out in the world where they can interact with other people, end up as insane hennits living in the deepest jungles. Culture The Zarrhor (Zar-hore) are the tribe's historians. and they hold an important role in Lizard Man society. Paper will not last long in the Yin-Sloth Jungles, and there are very few caves or rock walls on which to record the tribe's history. Due to this lack of suitable materials. many Lizard Man tribes, especially those in the deep j ungle, trust their history to the memory of the Zarrhor. In small tribes, one Lizard Man will assume the role of Zarrhor, while in large tribes up to six Zarrhor will work together 10 preselVe the history of the tribe. On alternating nights. the Zarrhor recites parts of the tribe's history for all to hear in the village center. Epic tales of battles and other such dramatic events are the mainstay of the Zarrhor. However. they will regale the villagers with all manner of stories each night. The Zarrhor are considered very important people and treated with the according respect. However honored their role, however, they are still expected to contribute to the tribe as everyone else does. Where suitable materials are available to the tribe. the
Zarrhor is charged with recording the tribe's history in writing and drawings. Medicine men and healers in the tribe are skilled in natural medicine, fiuit and plant lore as well as herbology. The jungle that surrounds all villages is a fantastic source of natural medicines, and the Lizard Men make sure that they responsibly utilize all of the resources that are at their disposal. A Bundarra (Bun-dar-ra) is held at the beginning and end of the wet season. For the entire three days of Bundarra the village celebrates in unison. The true splendor of the Lizard Man lifestyle comes out during this festival. The days are filled with competitions and trials of strength, endurance and skill. Foot, swimming and canoe races are common to most tribes. Fitting in with their warlike culture, there will also be competitions of archery, spear throwing, swordsmanship, bare-hands fighting and ball and chain duels. Rare events such as tree climbing races or memory competitions may only be held by a handful of tribes. The memory competitions are used by the Zarrhor to probe for young Lizard Men who may have the potential to succeed them. Huge bonfires light up the village while the Lizard Men dance and party the night away. With all of the social events and interaction, courtship flourishes during the Bundarra. All of the color, food and activity make for a very exciting time while the Bundarra is running. Lizard Men lead dangerous lives, and their initiation into adulthood is no different. The young Lizard Man is lent one of the tribe's knives. He must then head out into the jungle, and slay an adult crocodile using only the knife. Some tribes larget different types of animals. depending on the wildlife that lives near the village. A couple of soldiers and a priest tail the youngster to observe and attempt to ensure his safety. Upon successful completion of the rite, the adult is presented with the kn ife to keep. The Hunnsoo then tattoos the new initiate with the tribe's insignia across his foreann. Examples of Tribal Tattoos Tattoos play an important part in the society of Lizard Men. More than any other marking they stand to signify rank. status and most importantly, tribe. The soft, scaly skin of the Lizard Men docs not hold ink the same way that human skin does. For a tattoo to take hold on a Lizard Man, individual scales must be magically colored. The priests of the tribe are the only ones skilled in this magic. The time consuming tattooing process is always carried out with great ceremony and respect. Each Lizard Man receives a Military Service tattoo at the completion of the mandatory three years of military service. When a Lizard Man accepts a full-time position in the military, the Military Service tattoo will be expanded to indicate this. Council members and military officials often have large and in45 tricate tattoos, which can cover most of their chest and back. As expected, the Muccnarra. Chyannon and Hunnsoo are adorned with the largest and most intricate tattoos orall. Banished Lizard Men are tattooed with a black band across their forehead, forever marking them as an outcast. The vast majority of Lizard Men and Women wear little more then a small loincloth. This is due to their love of the water and the difficulty of swimming with clothes on. When dress· ing up on land. mother of pearl. colorful cloaks and feathers are used for dress, decoration and jewelry. Gold is also occasionally incorporated into their jewelry. However. gold is not especially valued by the Lizard Men. The Lizard Men have been using this to their advantage when they trade with the gold-hungry humans. Over many years Lizard Men have built up a dislike for out· siders. Always it seems that outsiders end up abusing the good nature of the Lizard Men. In the past, many humans have visited Lizard Man villages with good intentions, however the open and trusting nature of the Lizard Men usually provides the visitor one opportunity too many. With only one wrongdoing the outsider will be ejected from the village, and each time that happens the image of all outsiders is tarnished a little more. At this point in time the Lizard Men are borderline racists. With no solid allies, they prefer to only trust their own kind. The coming war with the Western Empire and the Land of South Winds will probably sway the Lizard Men into full-blown racism against all humans. Views from Outside The Western Empire sees the Lizard Men as a danger to their expansion plans in the Yin-Sloth Jungles. The rivers of the Yin Sloth Jungles will be the lifeblood of any emerging empire. The Western Empire intends to cleanse the Lizard Men from the waterways, so that they may hold sway over the jungles. This plan of action spells doom for the Lizard Men. No matter how hard they fight, they will not be able to repel the Western Empire in the decades of war that are to come. The Land of the South Winds has much the same view, however they will not be quite as brutal as the Western Empire. Tezcats and the Lizard Men have been fighting since the dawn of time. At least that is how the Shaman of the Tezcats de· scribe the situation. Lizard Men are the enemies who hold territory that should be in the hands of the Tezcats. The Lizard Men are seen as highly aggressive and irrational, with the slightest provocation leading to war. They are a foe that should be destroyed when they can be, and avoided at all other limes. For the most part, the two races are balanced, so any triumph in their ongoing war will only be a short-tenn victory. While they battle for the same territory, war between these two proud races is inevitable. Lizard Man tribes have a strong sense of identity and see other tribes as very different people. Sometimes war breaks out between tribes, but for the most part, they live separate and happy lives. On rare occasions, two tribes will merge. This occurs most often if one tribe has been so ravaged by war that it is unable to stand alone. Circumstances can also lead two tribes to merge when they share a common border and are competing for
the same resources. The tribes will merge to avoid a long and protracted war from weakening both tribes. Mostly the other jungle inhabitants simply see the Lizard Men as part of the jungle landscape. A territorial group that is best left alone, however, they do not see the Lizard Men as a source of trouble. Lizard Men as Player Characters Lizard Men who have headed out of their village to explore the world are as varied as their reasons for traveling. It is unlikely that they are searching for riches; though glory is a different matter. It may be that the travel bug has bitten and they just want to explore locations outside of the j ungle that they have grown up in. Large cities hold special interest for the Lizard Men. On one hand they love that there are so many people 10 interact with, on the olher hand they worry that there could be a lot of angry and unhappy people to meet. The Lizard Man that joins an adventuring party may also be there because he could not fit into his tribe. These individuals are usually selfish or cannot accept the political structure of Iheir tribe. On rare occasions the Lizard Man will have been banished from his tribe, and is now oul wandering the world as a violent rebel without a cause. Those who are banished often give up hope of a happy life. They are dangerous individuals who go through life not fearing death, for they see themselves as dead already. In some ways they are dead; they have given up on life and can never feel joy in anything again. Regardless of why they are out in the world, all adventuring Lizard Men have some common traits which make for interesting role-playing opportunities. They are untrusting of man - it will take several months before a Lizard Man will fully trust any human companions. As a compan ion they do make for loyal al· lies with a strong heart and a friendly smile. However, when their dark side comes out, they can be aggressive, confrontational and a terrible enemy. Their leaning towards violence for conflict resolution can tum a simple situation into a battle for survival. Coinciding with the major seasonal changes, they become even more aggressive and confrontational. The Bundarra held in Lizard Man villages seems to control this extra aggression and it goes mostly unnoticed. Out in the world, though, it causes major headaches for everyone who is near the angry Liz46 ard Man. All Lizard Men love to be near fresh water, and those who go traveling are no exception. Spending a long time away from water or in dry climates will bring on a bout of homesickness. Hence, traveling Lizard Men tend to stick to coastal areas and rivers. When they do head inland from their homeland they often head north through the jungle and into the Old Kingdom, avoiding the Baalgor Wastelands, as it is too difficult for them to acclimate to the arid environment. Lizard Man Campaigns Running a campaign for a group of characters that are all Lizard Men has many different directions that it could take. The following are some simple suggestions for campaigns exclusively made up of Lizard Men. • Zarrhor has become very ill and lies near death after being struck down by a rare jungle disease. She has not passed on all her knowledge to Jarlyne, who is training to become the new Zarrhor. If Zarrhor is not saved then much of the tribe's history will be lost forever. Uyth, the tribe's wisest medicine man, has told the council that the only thing that can save Zarrhor is an extremely rare herb that grows only near the Dragon's Gate Mountains. The characters are a small group of trusted Lizard Men who are sent by the council to recover the herb as quickly as they can. • The Yerthoth tribe is under constant attack from a nearby tribe of Tezcats. The Tezcat tribe is larger than the Lizard Man tribe, and hope is fading that the Yenhoth tribe can win the war. As members of the Yerthoth tribe, the characters must help their tribe to defeat the enemy. How will the smaller tribe triumph? Can the characters find a weakness in the enemy? Is there something that the characters can do to buy time wh ile the leaders of Yenhoth make new alliances with the neighboring Bazala tribe? • The characters are a group of young, enthusiastic Lizard Men who have recently been on a pilgrimage to the birthplace of their tribe. Upon returning to their village, they find it wiped out. All of the buildings are burnt to the ground and their fe llow tribe members gone. There is evidence scattered all around of who committed this atrocity. Once they find out who destroyed their village, what will the characters do about it? This earth-shattering event could twist and tum their minds. Who the actual culprit is, is up to you. It cou ld be another Lizard Man tribe, Tezcats, the Western Empire, or another force.
The Fires of Korath Part Two An Adventure for the Palladium Fantasy RPG® By Michael Long Chapter 11 - The Obelisk of Ra Leaving the stone lower and ifS wickedness far behind, your party adventures on, spending rhe next ten days on the trail withoUl any further misadventures. YOIi travel through the southern confine:; oj rhe Old Kingdom and onward, into the northern reaches of the Timiro Kingdom. You finally spot your destination, perched atop a distant hillside ... like Q giant, clawed finger pointing skyward. Hours laler your party stands before its massive walls ... before the Obelisk of Ra! As you pre· pare to enter, you each recall the words spoken to you by Harolh Wavestrider: "Second. ils might must be strippedJrom it! Lay the G/aive on its allar and wait until rhe sun rises ... when the slln strikes the ollar. the holy light of Ra shall pour down on the Glaive and destroy ils power!" 1) Staircase This staircase goes up to the Portico (room #3). 2) Staircase This staircase goes down to the dining hall (room #9). 3) Cloistered Portico This open-air portico is supported by 45 marble columns. At the base of the two staircases is a large statue of Isis, the mother goddess, while at the top of the staircases is one of Ra, god of light. 4) Vestry This small chamber contains two wooden cabinets. which hold the sacred vestments. robes and other religiolls garments of the Obelisk-Temple ofRa. 5) Sacristy This small room also contains two wooden cabinels. which happen to hold the sacred relics and holy artifacts of the Obelisk-Temple ofRa. The following artifacts are located in this room: The Blood of Ra Small vials of liquid. which wi ll negate any poisons. 47 The Bones of Ra Three small finger bones. Each has the power to tum 3D6 dead, 2 times/day. The Cha lice of Ra A beautiful, silver cup that has the power to create milk and bread at 4th level proficiency, 6 times/day. The Eyes of Ra Two enonnous sapphires which have the power to see auras, the invisible and wards at ~ level proficiency, 6 times/day. The Helmet of Ra A beautiful helm which creates an aura of protection around the wearer (+5 on all saving throws). The Tears of Ra A small Oask of liquid; each of the 30 drops inside can heal 306 Hit Points. The Orb of Ra A small crystal globe. which glows with a soft golden aura. It glows brighter the closer it comes to evil. 6) Treasury This small chamber contains three wooden cabinets which hold a total of twelve iron-bound treasure chests. Six are empty and six are full, and contain a total of: • 9,870 gold crowns. • 1,840 silver crowns. 7) Entry Hall This small antechamber has a large marble statue of Ra at the far end. and a staircase. which leads upwards. to the right. Two gold-robed worshipers of Ra stand in front of the statue. gazing up at it. wilh their backs to you. As you enter the chamber. they turn in your direction and shout. "You bear the Glawe! Surrender il to us or die!" The two "worshipers" are followers of the Old Ones who were sent to the Obelisk to await the Glaivc.
48 (2) Human Glaiveites2nd level Human Mercenary Warriors A.R. 13, 38 S.D.C. (studded leather under their robes), 20 S.D. C., 25 Hit Points, 6 feet (1.8 m) tall. Bonuses: + 1 to save vs Horror Factor. Attacks: 2 melee. Damage: Daggers ( 106) and short swords (206). Alignment: Diabolic (both). Each carries a belt pouch with 15 gold crowns in it. 8) Sanctum Six marble columns support the ceiling of this large chamber. At Ihe far end of the room arc two large statues, one of Isis and one of Ro. At the near end of the chamber arc two smaller statues of Thoth and Anhur. Eight robe-clad worshipers mill about the room. These people are true followers of Ra. There are 6 men and 2 women. 9) Dining Hall Two female servants busily sweep (he stone floor of this large chamber. The room contains three wooden tables and twelve stools. Rich wall hangings adom the Slone walls of the chamber. 10) Acolyte's Bedchamber A bunk bed and a wooden table surrounded by four chairs are the only furnishings of this room. A young man with an odd-looking glyph tattooed on his forehead leans on his staff and looks out the window. He wears the red and gold robes of a priest of Ra. When you enter, he turns and smiles, before bidding you welcome. The acolyte is Enekhra Healtouch. a Priest of Light. He will hear the party out and then escort them to his master, Vilatha Trueheart, to aid you in your quest to destroy the G!aive. Enekhra Healtouch - 1 sl level Priest of Light A.R. 10, 20 S.D.C. (soft leather under his robes), 20 S.D.C., 20 Hit Points, 43 P.P.E., 6.25 feet (1.9 m) tall. Attributes: I.Q. 16, M.E. 16. M.A. 12, P.S. 17, P.P. IS, P.E. 16 and P.B. 14. Attacks: 2 melee. Damage: Staff(2D6+2). Abilities: Blessings, miracles and prayers 21%, healing touch, exorcism 7%, remove curse 7%, tum dead 20%, and resist thirst for 2 days and hunger fo r 3. Alignment: Scrupulous. He has a small belt pouch that contains 50 gold crowns.
FIRST FLOOR GROUND FLOOR SECOND FLOOR @ '" III '" III III III .. EO '" li!l !il '" I1l " IS Iil @ Iia III III W If; rn '" Ilil I<) ell (j) rn I!l '" '" m ffi Iii " IiiI " I!l III @ I!l '" 0 '" Q) 11) Pantry This room contains a wooden cabinet filled with a wide variety of dried meats, fruits and vegetables, as well as six kegs of a common wine. 12) Kitchen A large. matronly-looking cook mills about the room. preparing the evening meal. Food of all kinds elullers the counters of her kitchen. This is Idara, the cook of the Obelisk-Temple. She is a very gruff, no-nonsense type of woman. 13) Priestess' Bedchamber This chamber contains a large, very comfortable bed. a wooden table and three cushioned chairs. In the comer is an iron-bound trunk. The chest contains the clothing and personal belongings of the Priestess of Ra, Vilatha Truehean. Under the clothes is a small leather bag containing 1,000 gold crowns. 14) Priestess' Study Hundreds of books line the shelves of a large wooden bookcase againsllhe right-hand wall. A small table stand holds a silver statuelte of Ra. and in the for corner of the room is a table and two chairs. Seated at the table is a beautiful young woman with long brown hair, and the red and gold robes of a priestess afRo. As your party enters Ihe room. she rises and bids you we/- come. Priestess Vilatha has just returned from a j ourney; her pack, satchel and morning-star are laid on top of the other chair, and 49 TIDRDFLOOR 1---------11 = Twenty Feet her staff leans against the nearby wall. Vilatha is kind and merciful, but can be stem and relentless in her fight against evil. Vilatha Trueheart6th level Human Priestess of Light A.R. 14, 50 S.D.C. (cloak of armor), 30 S.D.C., 48 Hit Points, 75 P.P.E., 5.8 feet ( 1.75 m) tall. Bonuses: +2 to strike, dodge and parry. Attributes: I.Q. 16, M.E. 18, M.A. 16, P.S. 13, P.P. 15, P.E. 12 and P.B. 20. Attacks: 3 melee or 2 magic. Damage: Staff (2D6), morning-star (2D6) or by magic. Abilities: Blessings, miracles and prayers 60%, healing touch, exorcism 42%, remove curse 42%, resurrection 13%, rum dead 45%, and resist thirst fo r 12 days and hunger for 18. Spell Str ength: 12 Spells: • Carpet of Adhesion • Sense Evil • Sleep • Tongues • Words ofThoth Alignmen t: Principled. She carries a small belt pouch with 86 gold crowns in it. 15) Library The room contains three solid oak bookcases, filled with a variety of conunon books, and a wooden table surrounded by three chairs.